Nightfall In the Big Dipper
by amy1oM
Summary: Earth Final Conflict/Pretender X-over: Jarod is called upon to help free Joshua Doors. Spoilers for EFC's Limbo and up to The Pretender's The Inner Sense. Co-written with a friend.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Nightfall In the Big Dipper, a Pretender/Earth Final Conflict crossover  
**Co-authors:** Lomeinie and KaraB

This story contains spoilers for EFC Season 4's "Limbo".

As for the Pretender, this story takes place sometime between DONOTERASE and THE INNER SENSE. Read with caution if you haven't seen these episodes and everything else in between them!

_You've got nothing to lose_

_When you've lost it all_

_And that's a good time to choose_

_If you're gonna stand or fall_

_I've got a feeling_

_Things'll get better soon_

_Dreams are for dreaming_

_Dreams are for coming true_

_Shoot for the moon_

_Aim high_

_There's a billion stars _

_In an endless sky_

_And one is yours_

_And one is mine_

_Shoot for the moon_

_Aim high_

_You've got everything you need_

_If you've got a friend_

_Somebody that'll whoop your mule_

_Push you to try again_

_Pull back your arrow_

_Stand with your chin up high_

_Feet firmly planted_

_Sight with a single eye and_

_Shoot for the moon_

_Aim high_

_There's a billion stars _

_In an endless sky_

_And one is yours_

_And one is mine_

_Shoot for the moon_

_Aim high_

_Shoot for the Moon,_

Linda Davis

The Centre

Blue Cove, Delaware

Sublevel 5, Tech Room

"What is it?" Miss Parker snapped as she entered the room. Broots nervously waved to her, but hurriedly finished his conversation on his global before turning his full attention to her.

"Uh, Miss Parker, where's Sydney?" he asked.

"Broots, I don't make it my business to keep track of Syd every hour of the day. Now what did you want?" she asked.

Broots cleared his throat. "I've got another lead on Jarod."

"And where is Wonder Boy this time?"

"On the other side in the world. Asia to be exact. Jarod helped Interpol bust up a new smuggling/black market ring," Broots replied, showing her the report

he'd found.

"Is he still there?" she asked.

"Probably not."

She nodded. "Get ready. We're going to see what the lab rat left behind."

"What about Sydney?"

She stopped at the door. "I'll find him. You just be ready to leave in ten." She didn't wait for his reply but instead made her way to Sydney's office.

She opened the door. "Syd, Broots has found a--" she stopped as she saw he wasn't there. She picked up a note from his desk that told her simply that he had left for the day and wouldn't be back until early tomorrow morning. She found it strange that he had just left like that. She wondered where he could have gone when he knew that they were close to locating Jarod again.

Her global beeped. "What?"

"Uh, Miss Parker, we're at the portal and ready to go," replied Broots' voice.

"I'm on my way."

Near the Lincoln Memorial

Washington, D.C.

The steady flow of tourists was finally starting to slow to a trickle by the time Renee arrived at the Reflecting Pool. Pulling her sunglasses off, Renee began to visually scan the crowd searching for the man she'd come to see. After several seconds had passed, her eyes locked onto the familiar form of his backside as he stood looking at the body of water before him. Smiling, Renee walked over to join him.

"Hello, Sydney."

Sydney looked up when he heard her voice. Smiling he pulled reached out to pull Renee into a hug even as he spoke into her ear, "It's so good to see you, Renee!" As they pulled apart, Sydney offered her his arm and Renee took it as they began to walk slowly around the pool.

"Thanks for coming," Renee said after a moment.

Sydney nodded. "You sounded like you needed someone to talk to, Renee. What's bothering you?"

"I call you because you're a psychiatrist and were a friend of Jonathan's," Renee paused. "I called you here because I need to talk to someone about Joshua."

"Jonathan's son?"

"Yes."

"What has you so worried about him, Renee?" Sydney asked.

Renee stopped walking to stare at him. "You haven't heard then?"

"Heard what?"

"Joshua was arrested by the Taelons and they've imprisoned him on the mothership," Renee replied. They began to walk again as her words sunk into Sydney's mind.

"Oh my- Renee, I think you better start over from the beginning. I am ashamed to admit that I haven't been paying attention to current events as I should but I am have had . . .other matters on my mind as of late," Sydney said.

Taking a deep breath, Renee began to relay the story of what had happened with Joshua and how he'd destroyed the Taelons' precious core energy . . .

Mile High Portal Station

Denver, Colorado

3:45 Mountain Standard Time

Jarod blinked as the ID stream released him at an outside portal station of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. He breathed in the thin afternoon air, putting on his sunglasses. No one paid any attention to this traveler who had just returned from the Far East. Jarod had spent nearly two weeks in Cambodia pretending to be an Interpol agent helping the local authorities bust up a ring that had begun smuggling black market items into the country, including Taelon contraband.

Jarod had just ended his pretend that day, and had nearly had a run in with Miss Parker as she arrived with Broots at the portal station. He had spotted them first fortunately and so he had been able to hide before they could see him. It was just a matter of waiting to them to leave the portal station and after that he'd simply portaled Stateside. Miss Parker would be annoyed when she realized her and Broots had JUST missed him.

Again . . .

Jarod smiled as he hailed a cab, because he didn't feel like walking to the place where he'd be starting his next pretend. He was going to be teaching a class for new immigrants to the United States who did not speak English as their first language as surprisingly there were a lot of people who still did not speak the official language of the United States.

The cab took him to the school's location, and Jarod saw that he had just enough time to eat lunch as he was to start teaching that same day. The school was located near a part of town where Spanish was the main language being spoken and the only place to eat near the school was a small open air café called Jorge's, which served authentic Mexican food as part of their menu.

"Buena tarde, señor! Mi nombre es Maria. Cómo puedo servirle hoy?"

Good afternoon, sir. My name is Maria. How may I help you?

"Buena tarde, señorita , tendré el especial de la casa."

Good afternoon, miss. I'll have the special of the house.

"Y para beber, señor?"

And to drink, sir?

"Una cerveza por favor."

A cold beer

"Sí, señor."

Jarod looked around at the other customers seated at the four other available tables. There were only a few people several men in fact, who stared at him as though he swallowed a canary. Jarod turned his gaze towards the town, trying to not let their gazes bother him.

"Hola, señor!" a little girl's voice said.

Hello, mister!

"Hola!" Jarod replied, smiling at the little girl who had joined him. "Mi nombre es Jarod."

My name is Jarod.

"Soy Eva. Soy 4 años de viejo, casi 5. Cómo viejo es usted?"

I'm Eva. I'm 4 years old, almost 5. How old are you?"

"Eva, no incomoda a hombre!" the waitress scolded the girl. "Estoy apesadumbrado, señor, ella sé para no incomodar a los clientes!"

Eva, don't bother the man! I'm sorry, mister, she does know not to bother the customers!

"Ésa es autorización, senorita, ella no me está incomodando en todos. En hecho, amaría tener alguien a hablar con mientras que yo como. Usted importa de si Eva permanece?"

That's okay, miss, she's not bothering me at all. In fact, I'd love to have someone to talk to while I eat. Do you mind if Eva stays?

"Por favor, madre?"

Please, mother?

"Todo a la derecha, pero solamente si usted es seguro ella no le está incomodando?"

All right, but only if you're sure she's not bothering you?

"No, ella está muy bien."

No, she's fine.

The woman nodded. "Apenas envíela lejos, señor, si ella comienza a incomodarle."

Just send her away, mister, if she starts to bother you.

Jarod spent the rest of his time at the café answering questions from the little Eva. She seemed curious about where he'd come from and she told him that she's never left her home since she was a baby. She had never left the state of Colorado; much less the United States and she asked Jarod about the places he'd visited. It sounded strange to hear, especially the age they were living in with the advanced technologies their alien visitors have given them but some people were meant to just never leave home, he guessed….

Renee and Sydney spent the better part of the evening, talking about the situation with Joshua before finally turning to other current events over dinner. Renee insisted on taking them out to dinner saying that it was the least she could do after dragging Sydney away from Blue Cove only to act as a sounding board for her concerns about Joshua.

It was well after 9 o'clock when Renee walked back with him towards the portal station. She hugged Sydney goodnight telling him, "You'll have to let me be ******your** sounding board sometime." Sydney thanked her for the gesture and they parted company. Renee returned, still unsure what could be done to help Joshua.

'Maybe the Resistance could find a way to rescue him from the mothership. . .

She drifted off to sleep on that thought. . .

"Good morning, Meg," Renee said as she walked passed her secretary on her way to her office.

"Good morning, Miss Palmer," Meg replying, getting up to follow her inside. Renee placed her briefcase on her desk, gestured for Meg to begin reading off the day's schedule. "And at lunch today the representatives from the Centre are coming in to start the preliminaries on-"

"The Centre? Meg, what day is it?" Renee asked startled.

"Tuesday, ma'am, the 17th," Meg replied.

Renee closed her eyes, and sitting down she briefly propped her head in her hands. "How on Earth did I forget the talks for the most important business opportunity for DI to expand was set to begin today?"

"I don't know, ma'am. I did leave you a memo yesterday about this-"

"Meg, relax. I'm not blaming you for me not being prepared for this today. Cancel all my morning appointments."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I need to spend the morning getting ready for this preliminary meeting with the Chairman of the Centre. Meg, please send in and any files you have for what's on today's agenda," Renee said.

"Yes, ma'am. Anything else?"

"Yes, make sure no one short of the President of the United States or a member of his staff walks through those doors. I have a lot of read to do before noon."

"Yes, m'am. Good luck."

Renee barely acknowledged her leaving. "Oh why did this have to happen on a day I am running late!"

The Centre

Blue Cove, Delaware

Sublevel 5, Tech Room

"Where did you disappear to yesterday?" Miss Parker asked as she walked in. Sydney was seated in a chair pulled up next to Broots' computer and he had been reading a report when she walked in. Broots was away, retrieving another document.

He looked up at her. "I had something important that needed attending to, Miss Parker."

"******Nothing** is as important as Jarod, Syd," she replied.

"Jarod can wait."

"Only if we expect to be chasing your lab rat around God's Green Earth for the rest of our lives, Sydney, and I, for one, do ******not** plan to be doing this for the rest of my life," she replied, "Now what was so important yesterday?"

"Miss Parker, I told you once that I have priorities outside of the Centre. What I was doing yesterday fell under one of those priorities I place before my work here at the Centre," Sydney replied.

"What or who could possibly be more important to you than the lab rat?"

Sydney ignored her, turning instead to the report he'd been reading. "Now about Jarod's lair in Cambodia-"

"Jarod left very little behind. Except this." She took out his usual red notebook and threw on table before Sydney.

"Yes, Broots told me that he had left very little behind," he said as he flipped the pages. Jarod had cut and pasted only local newspaper clippings, making it very difficult for anyone who didn't read the language to understand. Sydney closed the notebook. "Broots said that he left something else behind as well."

Miss Parker walked over to another part of the room and picked up a box. She returned to the table and dumped the contents of the box before Sydney. Sydney chuckled as he fingered one of the items before him.

"Chinese finger puzzles."

"Syd, explain something to me. Jarod is supposedly one of the most brilliant geniuses in the world, or at least the Centre thinks so, and yet the simplest things often fascinate him. Why is that?"

Sydney sighed, laying the puzzle down. "Because he was never allowed to have the simplest things as a child, Miss Parker." Before she could reply, Broots walked in and handed Sydney the report he'd requested.

"Let's find Jarod, shall we boys?"

Renee strolled down the hall, toward the conference room. She couldn't believe how late she was running - well, a few more minutes to compose herself wouldn't hurt. She ducked into a bathroom to freshen up and splash some water on her face. Her thoughts had dwelt on Joshua especially since her discussion with Sydney last night. She had heard nothing from him since Sandoval had arrested him. Several times she had tried to contact Sandoval to ask, but he refused to give her any answers. She didn't even know for sure that Joshua was still alive, or in what condition he was in. But given that he was at Sandoval's mercy, it couldn't be very good.

She'd find a way to help him. There had to be someone who would get him out - it might cost a fortune - literally. But surely it could be done . . . surely there was a way.

Renee vowed to not rest until she found a way. Joshua didn't deserve to be left up there alone - while he endured only God knew what.

When Jarod began teaching at the class, they had all been studying English for several months so nearly a week later, the class was ready for advanced lessons in English to begin. His students consisted of immigrants from either mostly Mexico with a few of the South American countries mixed in. The countries they came from were for the most part still very poor, even in the age of the Taelons. The people in the class wanted a better life for themselves, their families and all were willing to work hard to get it.

On the day that Jarod was supposed to begin the advanced class was the day he finally received Sydney's message about Joshua. Ever since he had started to teach at the school, he hadn't been checking the email accounts he kept opened just to stay in touch with Sydney.

_Jarod,_

_Your help is urgently needed to help someone caught in an unjust situation. I've attached the appropriate information in this email. If you choose not to help, I understand. -Sydney _

Jarod opened the attachment and saw several newspaper articles about the son of late billionaire Jonathan Doors. He read of Joshua's arrest at the hands of the Taelons and how following his arrest, he hadn't been heard from. He was being held on . . .

"The Taelon Mothership," Jarod murmured.

He closed the global and his eyes. He wouldn't be able to turn his back on Joshua's plight and Sydney knew that too when he had sent the email. Jarod felt a little angry with his former mentor for doing this because he knew Jarod wouldn't be able to say no, especially after Joshua's grim situation had been revealed to him.

Joshua had destroyed precious Taelon core energy, something that was key to their survival. It stood to reason that Joshua's stay on the mothership wasn't going to be a pleasant one. Zo'or was known for several things, but mercy was not one of them. He'd probably have Joshua executed after they'd tortured him.

"This is Sydney."

"You know me too well, Sydney." Jarod had shut off the video feed of his global link.

"I'm sorry to do this, Jarod, but I know of no one else that can help Joshua. No government will help him for fear of reprisal from the Taelons," Sydney replied.

"What about the Resistance?"

"I'm not even sure that they could help him. He'd been heavily guarded on board the mothership. His rescue will take careful planning and calculations," Syd replied.

"The kind that only a Pretender is capable of."

"Yes."

"Sydney, I want to help, but I need to know if this is some sort of trap on the part of the Centre."

"Don't you trust me, Jarod?"

"I've always wanted to, Sydney, but there are times I couldn't. I'll check into this. If I am satisfied it's not a Centre trap, I'll see what I can do to help Joshua Doors regain his freedom."

"Thank you, Jarod," Sydney said but Jarod had already disconnected the call.

St. Catherine's Church

Somewhere near Washington D.C.

Renee coughed as she entered the small church. Her eyes scanned the sanctuary and she decided that it had seen better days as several of the stain glass windows were shattered. Dust covered several of the pews while an inch

of dust was on the altar along with a tarnished cross, and it was then she noticed that part of the ceiling was collapsed.

"Nice meeting place," she muttered.

"Isn't it though?"

Renee whirled around towards the voice that had spoken from the shadows, leveling a gun in that general direction.

"Are you Jarod?" she asked.

"Are you Renee?" the voice replied.

"I asked first," she replied.

A man stepped forward from the shadows and Renee knew she'd never seen him before. He was in his late 30's if she had to guess and he was holding up his hands in a gesture of peace. "Kara sends her best," he said.

Renee stared at him skeptical before she finally lowered her gun. "Jarod."

"Yes, I'm Jarod."

"Renee," she said, offered her hand, "Don't take this the wrong way but I don't know you. How long have you been a member of Kara's cell?"

"About a month. She hasn't told you about me yet?" Jarod asked.

"Uh, no but then again we haven't had a reason to contact the El Cajon cell lately," Renee replied, sneezing.

"Come on, let's go outside," he said, indicating the open door.

Renee nodded but allowed him to leave first. They walked outside to a starless night, Renee breathing the clean air in deeply. The chill of the night caused them both to pull their coats more tightly around themselves as they walked around the small church.

"Word has it that you want to free Joshua Doors from his...home on the mothership," Jarod began.

"You've heard right. Joshua doesn't deserve to be held prisoner and tortured by the Taelons, especially not after everything he's been through in the last several months," Renee replied. "And besides, it's the least I owe to Jonathan, keeping his son safe."

"You feel you owe this to him because you feel partly responsible for death of Jonathan Doors?" Jarod asked. "I read the reports, Renee, and you weren't responsible for what happened at One Taelon Avenue. You were controlled by Taelon technology designed to suppress the free will of the people inside those walls."

"I know that! Don't you know that I've also read the reports? I had the best technicians of DI pick that place apart after the computer core was taken offline," Renee replied, pausing for a second. "I showed the same reports to Joshua, and like me his head accepted what the experts were said. In our minds, we both accepted that we weren't at fault but tell me, Jarod, have you ever tried to convince your heart to listen to your head?"

Jarod closed his eyes for a moment, understanding exactly what she meant. How many times over the years had his head tried to tell his heart that he was not responsible for what the Centre did with the simulations he performed for them? And how many times had his heart refused to listen to his head? Too many times it seemed. . .

"I understand, Renee. I understand all too well."

Renee nodded and started to walk again. She waited for Jarod to catch up to her before speaking. "What's your plan for getting Joshua off of the mothership?"

Jarod shrugged. "I thought I'd play it by ear."

Renee looked at him, alarmed. "You are not going to the mothership without a plan because if you are you might as well march right up to Zo'or and ask him to release Joshua."

"Which isn't likely to happen in this millennium."

"Exactly."

"Don't worry, Renee, I'll have a plan before I go to the mothership. Within the week, Joshua Doors will be a free man. I promise you that."

Joshua lay still in his cell on board the mothership. Not that he could have moved if he had wanted. His life had become an endless stream of pain, occasionally broken by a few moments of relief. He hurt - all the time. Sandoval was the one doing most of the torture, at Zo'or's orders of course. During these few moments of relief that he got he never allowed himself to think about what they were doing to him. At first he had fantasized about escaping. Now, his thoughts had turned darker - revenge - what he wanted to do to them if he ever got the chance. And he ferverently hoped and prayed that he got the chance to make them pay . . . for him and for his father before Zo'or ordered his execution, a day he dreaded and in some ways looked forward to.

They had not broken him - not yet. That was the only thing he had left to hold on to. They controlled him - when he ate, if he ate, the pain, the scars, and sometimes they even controlled his memories. He shuddered at recalling how that had felt the first time they had invaded his mind . . . . forcing him to relive the painful memories, manipulating them . . . so the only thing that had kept him sane and grounded was the fact that he still had some power over them - they hadn't gotten what they wanted yet - they were having too much fun trying to actually go ahead and force it out of him.

And Joshua knew that they were close, very close. And they could have forced the information weeks ago, but Sandoval had been ordered to take his time . . . And take his time, he had. Each day he came a little closer to cracking that resolve that Joshua had built up. No, it wouldn't take too much more . . .

He had long ago given up hope of rescue. No one wanted to risk the Taelons wrath and he knew he was out of reach - even for the Resistance. The only human contact he had besides Sandoval were volunteers and a few doctors. The volunteers served as guards and the doctors . . well, he actually hated them the most. Sandoval was evil, but he was following orders and besides, Joshua knew where he stood. But doctors? They were supposed to be protectors of life. Up here, they kept him breathing . . . sure . . . but they were also helping Sandoval perfect the memory invasion technology. And not one of them saw him as a person. Some had even mocked his pain . . . taking notes while the machine slowly ripped his mind apart; watching passively as he screamed in pain, pleading for their help - silently and aloud.

Had destroying the core energy been worth this? Joshua was no longer sure. He had lost all control of his world and his mind. Now, they were slowly taking his soul . . .

The Centre

Somewhere on SL-17

"Can you or can you not transfer my consciousness into the bio-surrogate, doctor?" Mr. Raines wheezed out. His time was coming to an end and each day he was finding it more difficult to breathe, even with the tank he had been hooked up to for more than 20 years.

"Of course I can, Mr. Raines, but you should know something first. If this transfer is unsuccessful I won't be able to transfer you back to your current body," the doctor replied.

"I'm dying anyway, doctor. I have very little time left. Only this transfer will extend my life. Now prep for the transfer. I want to do this in 10 minutes. Understood?" Raines replied.

"Yes, Mr. Raines. Excuse me," the doctor said.

"Doctor, the tower is not to know about our activities here on SL-17, so don't even think about trying to clear this with Mr. Parker."

The doctor who had been on his way out of the room stopped dead in his tracks and he turned again to face Raines. "But, sir, a procedure like this- well the tower has to be notified so I can get the proper authorization-"

"Doctor, you have my authorization. I am second to Mr. Parker. That is all the authorization you need. Now get things ready for the transfer."

The doctor gulped. "Yes, sir."


	2. Chapter 2

Joshua stirred from his half conscious state as footsteps echoed closer. He painfully pulled his body to a half-sitting position. It was amazing just how many ways a person could hurt . . .

Moments later, Sandoval entered the room. He barely looked at Joshua, pretending he was merely an inanimate object. Joshua didn't recognize the other man by name that entered behind him, but his clothing told Joshua all he needed to . . . Sandoval had brought another "doctor" to "help" with the "project".

Joshua studied the new doctor through half-closed eyes. He wasn't going to passively let them hurt him again. Fighting back might make it worse, but getting some revenge meant more to him now than less pain ever could.

Sandoval finally looked at Joshua, with disgust, as if he were the lowest thing ever to cross Sandoval's path . . The new doctor studied him too and Joshua imagined that he actually saw some concern and compassion on the man's face.

"Dr. Boone," Sandoval addressed the new doctor, "You may set up and get started if you wish. I will return shortly, after I update Zo'or on the status of the tests."

The doctor nodded, "Thank you. I'm glad you allowed me to come here."

Sandoval nodded, "We can always use someone with your credentials in this line of work, Doctor. If you do a good job on this project, I'm sure we can arrange for you to do some further work for the Taelons."

"That would be excellent." The doctor moved around the room, setting up the machine Joshua had grown to hate as Sandoval exited, Volunteers in tow. The man ignored Joshua for several minutes, slowly setting up the equipment.

The man casually walked over to the entrance and looked out. He nodded to himself then turned to Joshua, "Come on, we've got to leave now."

Joshua just stared at him - what kind of cruel mind game was this?

He came over next to Joshua and Joshua dove at him, trying to hurt him in any way possible before he could call for the Volunteers, certain that this was a trick. Joshua was so weakened by the torture that the man had no trouble stopping his attack. What surprised Joshua was that he didn't call for the guards, nor did he inject him with anything. Instead he said, "I'm really here to help you. My name is Jarod."

At this unexpected turn of events, Joshua balked, backing away as fast as he was physically able. "If this is another one of Sandoval's tricks you can tell him I won't go along this time. I'm not stupid enough to believe that I'll ever leave this ship. I just hope that I'll be able to take a few of you with me when he does kill me."

Jarod remained sitting there, "I'm not lying to you. This isn't a trick. I'm here to get you out."

"Give me one reason to believe you." Joshua whispered, on the verge of collapse again . . . the burst of adrenaline was almost gone.

"A friend of mine contacted me . . told me what happened . . ." Jarod trailed off, "Besides, do you really have a choice?" Perhaps it was best to approach this bluntly, "They're going to kill you if you stay. There is a chance if you come with me. And yes, there is the possibility that I'm lying, but given what I've seen - how much more can they do to you before they kill you?"

Joshua gave a short laugh, "Well that is a reason, but I can imagine some pretty horrible fates if this is a trick . . . But I suppose I don't have much choice - on this or anything else for that matter."

Jarod could see that the man had given up hope but was now seeing a sliver of light in this mess, thirsting for a taste of freedom. Jarod stood and held out a hand, "Trust me." It was a simple phrase, a request and a plea.

Joshua's battered face studied Jarod's, then nodded seriously, "Okay," he whispered taking Jarod's hand. Jarod helped him stand, shakily - he wasn't going to be able to walk on his own.

After a few steps, Joshua began to regain some balance. They were able to slowly make their way along the mothership corridors, Joshua clinging to Jarod.

This part of the ship was fairly deserted, obviously a highly classified section. "We're heading to the shuttle bay . . ." Jarod said. "Then we'll get out of here." Joshua nodded silently. Suddenly they heard footsteps coming down the hall - footsteps that sounded like Sandoval's . . .

Jarod ducked into another hallway, Joshua following. And they both collided with someone else who was in the shadows.

"Liam!" Joshua exclaimed.

Before Liam could respond, they heard Sandoval call, "Who's there?" The footsteps drew closer.

Liam nodded to Joshua, eyeing Jarod suspiciously and then stepped out and spoke to Sandoval, to cover. He desperately hoped he was making the right choice, based on what appeared to be happening. The agent held a skrill aimed at him, "Whoa Sandoval, it's just me. Zo'or sent me down here to find you. He said he found something that he thinks you might find of interest."

Sandoval looked annoyed, "I'll be there shortly Major, I'm going to find the doctor . . ."

Liam looked smug, "Zo'or said it was urgent. He said for you to report immediately."

Sandoval nodded, "Very well. Now, you might want to get back to your own duties, Major."

Joshua felt a sense of renewed hope when they entered the shuttle bay. Maybe this man, Jarod, was telling the truth. Maybe he would be able to get out of here and live . . . Life wouldn't be normal, it never could be for him. But at least he'd be free . . .

Jarod helped him get settled into the seat of the shuttle and then jumped into the driver's seat. "So exactly how many times have you done this?" Joshua asked.

"Flying a shuttle? Actually, never." Jarod paused a moment, "I learned to drive on this video game I found . . . It was actually quite fun." Jarod grinned

"Now I'm sorry I asked . . ." Joshua moaned. "Who ARE you?"

"Just someone who's trying to help." Jarod expertly piloted the shuttle out of the bay and almost immediately went into interdimensional space.

"Where are we going?" Joshua asked.

"We've got to lay low for a few days, then a friend of yours will meet us and take you to safety."

When Jarod landed the shuttle, he found that Joshua had fallen asleep in the seat. /Probably shouldn't have told him exactly how I learned to pilot the shuttle. He really has been through enough . . ./

Jarod gently landed the shuttle in small isolated forest in South Carolina. This wasn't where they were staying but there were no portals near where they were going, plus a shuttle or a portal could be tracked. They would have to use more conventional means to get there. He gently shook Joshua awake, and Joshua muttered "Please don't . . . please don't" over and over again.

"Come on Joshua, wake up. We have to get out of here." Jarod inserted more urgency into his voice than fit the situation, hoping that it would counter whatever Joshua was dreaming about.

Joshua finally broke out of the nightmare, groaning as he sat up. "Where are we? Jarod?"

"We're in Nowhere, South Carolina. We need to get out of here before Sandoval and friends arrive . . .

"I'm safe?" his voice was low and small.

"You're safe." confirmed Jarod. "But we need to move."

Joshua nodded and undid the seat restraints, fumbling a bit. "Where are we going? Are we going to use a portal to get there? They can track portals."

"No, and there are no portals near the place we're going. We're getting there by car. It's going to be okay. Just trust me."

Joshua nodded as Jarod helped him out of the shuttle and into the old vehicle Jarod had left nearby.

"Nice car." joked Joshua.

"Thanks, but it's not mine." Jarod responded as he started the engine and began the road trip to their destination.

Joshua relaxed as they drove through the countryside. Neither man spoke until they found a policeman coming up behind them, lights flashing.

"Jarod?"

Jarod had already seen it, and muttered something under his breath. "Let me do the talking here. I can handle this. And if he asks your name, just ignore him. I'll take care of it."

Jarod slowed and pulled over to the side of the road. The police car pulled behind them and the policeman jumped out and strolled up beside the car on the driver's side. "Hello boys. You going to a fire? I was just noticing that you were driving a tad on the fast side there. You know, that could be rather dangerous." The man said all this rather condescendingly.

"There's a fire somewhere? I wasn't aware that there was one as I forgot to bring my police scanner today." Jarod said innocently. "Has anybody been hurt?"

"Are you trying to be cute, boy?" The policeman stared through the car at Joshua, who sat there nervously.

"No sir." Jarod said, "We just have to be somewhere really soon and . . ."

"Whoa son. I don't want to hear excuses. Now, if you'll both step out of the car . . . nice and slow."

Jarod nodded at Joshua and both complied. The sheriff studied Joshua's face again, "You look familiar to me. I bet the two of you are on the run aren't you?" He pulled out a pair of handcuffs, "I'm afraid you two are going to have to come with me . . ."

Jarod interrupted, "Sheriff, you're making a mistake. I work with the government. I'm going to reach into my pocket for my ID." The sheriff gave a nod, not wanting to upset anyone from the federal government. That's how he'd gotten this rotten assignment. Jarod slowly pulled out an ID card and handed it to the man.

The man's eyebrows shot way up, "The CIA? What are you doing out here?"

"Classified." Jarod said. Joshua eyes bugged in surprise and he could tell that Jarod was enjoying this. Jarod continued, pointing at Joshua, "I'm supposed to be escorting this prisoner to a top secret meeting place. It's highly classified and extremely important. If anyone comes looking for us, anyone at all, then tell them nothing about seeing us. There are several corrupt government employees who would love to get their hands on the information we're protecting."

The Sheriff's expression had gone from one of irritation and condescension to one of wonder. This had never happened on his watch before - never anything this exciting. And he was being trusted to keep a big secret. What he didn't know. Maybe he should keep more of a presence on these roads . . . catch a few corrupt government employees that came this way . . . According to this guy, anyone who came through looking for them was probably a corrupted government employee, so he could arrest them and maybe even get a promotion out of this backwater town.

Jarod smiled to himself as he and Joshua got back into their car and drove away, leaving a very confused sheriff behind. Jarod could see the unasked questions on Joshua's face.

"Who ARE you Jarod? How did you have a CIA badge?"

"I've done some work for the CIA on occasion. I'm not really an agent, more like a temporary consultant but I do have the clearance."

Joshua looked impressed and to Jarod's relief he accepted the explanation, though Jarod sensed that he still held a little skepticism about the situation.

A look of irritation crossed Sandoval's face as he entered Joshua's cell to find it empty. All the doctors just didn't understand rules . . . they felt like that since they were doctors they had special privileges to conduct experiments how they wanted to, move subjects where they wanted. Well, he would explain it to this doctor, just as he had the last few. Their experiment was to remain in his cell. Joshua Doors would die there, and Sandoval almost felt sorry for the young billionaire turned experiment. He had endured much over the last few months, but Zo'or would soon tire of dragging out the torture and order his execution.

That would occur, of course, after they had retrieved certain . . . information. But Joshua would never set foot on Earth again. The world already believed he had been killed in a freak accident at the Doors cold fusion plant. Only Kincaid and Palmer knew the truth and if either told anyone and it hit the media . . . it would be proof enough to arrest them as traitors. Actually, Sandoval hoped they would.

Sandoval methodically made his way around the other rooms that the doctors were allowed to use and became more irritated, the longer it took with no results. Finally he went to a computer panel and his eyes went wide. Dr. Boone had left the ship on a shuttle a few hours beforehand, with a mystery guest along for the ride. And there was little dispute as to the identity of the guest.

Zo'or was going to have a fit.

Sandoval entered the bridge area, hesitant to approach Zo'or and for good reason. Zo'or had taken great pleasure in ordering, and even watching the torture that Joshua had been put through. When it came to the core energy, Zo'or was a crazed maniac.

"Agent Sandoval, please explain your presence on the bridge."

"Zo'or, I'm afraid I have some rather disturbing news."

Zo'or's voice was an icy warning, "What is it, Agent Sandoval?"

Sandoval's voice returned to its monotone, hoping that would help control the inevitable explosion, "I'm afraid that somehow Joshua Doors has escaped. I have reason to believe that the doctor you chose to participate in the research, Jarod Boone, aided him."

"What?" Zo'or's eyes narrowed, "You have good reason to be afraid, Agent Sandoval. You allowed a prisoner, with information about the Taelons to escape. He is one whom the world will take seriously. Did I not make myself clear that you were to directly supervise all procedures involving him to insure that this very circumstance would not occur?"

"Zo'or, I did not think that . . ."

"That is correct, Agent Sandoval, you did not think. How can you be so incompetent?"

The Taelon paused a moment, long enough for Sandoval to notice that all bridge activities had stopped and all eyes were on him.

"Perhaps, Agent Sandoval, other motivations need to be found for you to follow my orders. I suggest that you find Mr. Doors quickly, ******before** he discredits the Taelons publicly, otherwise, I'm inclined to allow you to take his place."

Sandoval didn't think Zo'or was truly serious about that threat, but he could never quite be sure about the Taelon. And Zo'or's mood swings had become more extreme. Sandoval absolutely hated the Taelon, and this threat only fueled that hatred more.

Joshua looked surprised as they stopped at a cabin, tucked away from the main roads. Jarod had been driving most of the day and into the night. He had found himself dozing off several times, his body trying to heal itself.

"Where is this?"

"This is a friend's cabin. We'll be safe here for a while. How are you holding up?" Jarod asked as they entered the cabin.

"I'm just thankful to be here. To be alive - on Earth. I really believed that I was going to die up there. Sometimes I hurt so much I wished that they'd go ahead and do it." Joshua stopped talking and looked slightly embarrassed.

Jarod didn't notice or at least he pretended not to.

"Jarod, there's one thing I don't understand."

"What is it?"

"Why did you rescue me? You don't even know me and just for trying to help they'll kill you."

"Let's just say that I know how you feel and I've been where you are." Jarod paused, "I couldn't let anyone go through the same experience if I can possibly help them."

"Sandoval will never give up on capturing you. And what exactly am I supposed to do? Hide for the rest of my life? I have to do something to help stop what they're doing! I wasn't the only prisoner up there, Jarod. I didn't really get to talk with others, but I know I wasn't."

"You'll find a way to help. Just follow your heart."

"I don't know how to repay you for what you've done . . ."

Jarod shook his head, "You don't need to . . ."

Joshua continued, despite the interruption, "but if there is ever anything I can do to help you, or to help you help other people, let me know."

Jarod grinned and nodded, "Okay. Fair enough." He pointed down a hallway, "Now why don't you go back there and crash. A good night's sleep always helps. Trust me, I know.

Sandoval rubbed his eyes as he walked into his office on board the mothership. "What have you got, Tate?"

Tate called up a file on his global link and gave it to Sandoval. "That's everything I could find on the alleged Volunteer Doctor Jarod Boone. The guy has a file on him as long as my arm and the aliases filed for him-- well take a look for yourself."

Sandoval took the global from Tate and after one last skeptical look he played the file on 5 times the normal speed. What had taken Tate hours to compile, he read in a few minutes flat. This man had an extremely distinguished career -- FBI, CIA, CID, NSA, not to mention school teacher, race car driver, and doctor . . . among other things . . . After the file was finished, he snapped the global shut, giving it back to Tate.

"Who the heck is this guy?" Tate said.

"That's a very good question, Tate. Whoever he is, he breached Taelon security. I want him found but not by Taelon resources," Sandoval replied.

Tate laughed. "You're kidding right? Not use Taelon resources?" Sandoval gave him a glare. "Come on, boss, they've got the most extensive resource base on the planet. How do you expect me to find this guy who's obviously a flippin chameleon without making use of them?"

"You're an FBI agent, Tate. Use their resources," Sandoval ordered.

Tate watched him storm out of the room before he shaking his head. It was time to call in some favors at the Bureau, maybe all the ones he'd accumulated over the years he'd spent as an FBI agent. He hoped it was worth it because he had serious doubts that he wouldn't be able to find this guy unless he wanted to be found.

Joshua sat up in his bed. He panicked. /Where am I? Am I back on the mothership? What happened to me?/ Memories flooded through his mind about meeting that new doctor, Jarod, and Liam and his rescue. But that stuff couldn't be real. It couldn't have happened. It was impossible. And he didn't deserve that . . . why would anyone help him?

Then, slowly, he opened his eyes and a wave of uncertainty, followed by relief washed over him. He was no longer on the mothership . . then he remembered, Jarod had brought him to a friend's cabin . . . He sighed again, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This was the first time in months he had awoken as a free man. Naturally, he still felt sore from what he had undergone, but a good night's sleep and freedom had made a start at healing some of the scars. And he was really grateful to Jarod for what he had done - risking his life to save someone he had not even known.

Joshua stood and stumbled into the living room. Jarod had warned him that the drugs that had been injected into his system would remain for another week at most and things might seem off till then. Joshua curiously ran a hand over the silver suitcase he had seen Jarod carrying and jumped when he heard someone in the room beyond.

"Hey Jarod . . ." he called, entering the next room. And stopped dead in his tracks when he saw an older man standing there. Stark terror crossed Joshua's face. /I will NOT go back. I will NOT go back/.

"I'm not going back. You'll have to kill me." Joshua backed away, hands searching for something to defend himself with, "What did you do to Jarod?"

The man stretched out a hand, as if to calm him. "I'm afraid Jarod had to leave, but he left you this." The stranger held out an envelope, addressed to him. "I'm not here to take you back."

"Who are you?" Joshua still wasn't sure about this man. His months spent at Sandoval's hands were vividly playing through his mind.

"You don't need to be afraid of me." The man sat, "My name is Dr. Sydney Green. I was a friend of your father's when we were younger."

Joshua froze. Though the man's face was totally unfamiliar, the name actually meant something to Joshua. And the voice fit into his memory as well. It was . . . familiar, now that the name was connected with it . . . Comprehension flickered across Joshua's face, "You arranged my rescue?"

"I had a hand in it, yes."

"Thank you," Joshua said sincerely.

"It's the least I could do." A pause, "I heard about your father's death and I'm sorry. I would have tried to get to you sooner, but I'm ashamed to say that I haven't been paying much attention to current events. I know your stay could not have been a pleasant one."

"Don't . . . you don't have to apologize. You saved me, you and Jarod. If it weren't for you, Sandoval would still be . . ." Joshua trailed off, "hurting me."

Sydney looked at him sympathetically.

Joshua ran a hand through his hair, visibly upset, and slowly sank to sit on the couch. He opened the note Jarod left. Sydney noted that after reading it, Joshua seemed to relax even further.

"Sydney? Tell me more about my father. Please?"

"Your father and I became friends during college. We were best friends. But after that we pretty much lost touch. We still sent Christmas cards and an occasional phone call, but we were both engrossed in our work. We always had different goals. Ironically, while I thought mine more noble, Jonathan's seemed to have turned out better."

Sydney then began to tell Joshua stories about their friendship, his father as a college student. Some of the stories made Joshua laugh. His father had not always been Jonathan Doors: Great Visionary.

Several hours later they were still talking, but eventually, the conversation dwindled to a halt.

"Thank you for telling me this Sydney. Dad and I weren't really close until right before his death."

"I'm glad I could help you. And even though Jonathan and I lost contact with each other, I know he loved you and your mother very much. He wasn't the type to show his emotions."

Joshua nodded and the two sat in silence for the first time in a while. Joshua stared at the floor. Sydney stared at Joshua, silently analyzing his emotions.

"What do you do Sydney?" Joshua asked, startling Sydney from his thoughts.

Sydney seemed to think a moment, as if unsure what to say, "I work as a psychiatrist for a corporation." he finally said slowly.

"What corporation?" Joshua was somewhat puzzled by the man's reluctance, "And how do you know Jarod? Is he your son?" Joshua saw that Sydney became more uncomfortable with each question.

"Jarod is not my son, but I did raise him, because his parents were unable to."

"Does Jarod work for the same corporation?"

"Let me tell you this the best way I can. The people I work for are very dangerous. They are more dangerous than even Agent Sandoval." Joshua shuddered at that thought. "I do not want to lie to you about what I do, but the less you know the better. I'd daresay that you're already in some jeopardy. So please, do not ask too many questions."

Joshua nodded. He wasn't very eager to get back into more trouble, especially not with people reputed to be worse than his former captor. "What's going to happen to me now?"

"I know that Jarod is to have you meet an old friend who will take you underground. From there, I don't know. I imagine that the only logical thing for you to do would be to join the Resistance . . . Let me warn you about something, Joshua. The place I work for knows things about many people and organizations. They are people no one should tangle with. Your father was wise enough to not get involved with them. I wasn't. Once they get you, they have you - for life. Don't even think about trying to get involved with them, especially to help us. That would only be a death sentence for all of us."

"How will I know who they are if they do approach me? You've been so vague . . ."

"You will know. I will warn you. Just be careful."

Joshua nodded, sensing the importance of this even though the consequences were not obvious. He jumped as he heard the front door open.

"Relax, it's just me." Jarod said, knowing even before he got to the living room that Joshua was jumpy. He walked in and Sydney laughed.

"What happened to you?"

Jarod's face wasn't visible but several bags full of stuff were, "After I met with my contact, I decided to get some groceries . . ."

"Jarod I know the boy scout motto is 'Be Prepared' but really . . ." Sydney started, "I don't think any disasters will be hitting this area any time soon. Besides, how long are you planning to stay anyway? And what exactly did you buy?"

Jarod pulled out a small candy dispenser. "I was running low on these."

"PEZ candy?" Joshua's voice was astonished. "You bought PEZ candy? Tell me you bought some real food too."

"Yes, I bought some 'real food'. Haven't you ever had PEZ candy before?" Jarod was suddenly very interested in this conversation.

"Um yeah, when I was a kid." Joshua said.

Jarod tossed him a dispenser with Yoda's head on top. "Try some. My favorite is the strawberry and it's the hardest to find, incidently." Joshua stared at him in amusement, "Oh also, that movie is very good. Have you ever seen Star Wars?"

Joshua stared at him a minute, "Everyone has seen Star Wars. What planet are you from?"

Sydney sat back, staying silent and looking a bit amused and regretful at the same time.

"I actually recently discovered Star Wars. I enjoyed it very much. My favorite character was Luke. What about you?" Jarod didn't wait for an answer, "You know, I think they're showing it tonight . . ." He picked up the remote and began flipping.

Joshua looked amused and somewhat confused, but said lightly, "It's a good movie. I wouldn't mind seeing it again."


	3. Chapter 3

Sometime later, Raines was laid out on a surgical table that had been placed side by side the bio-surrogate that would be the new host for his consciousness-- but only if the transfer proved successful. The doctor hooked several monitors up to Raines even as his nurse did the same to the bio-surrogate. Finally the doctor prepared to hook up the last of the Taelon based equipment that would aid in the transfer. The doctor hesitated in hooking up the last piece.

"Do it, doctor."

"Mr. Raines, are you sure you know you're risking death if this doesn't work?" the doctor asked.

"I am dying, doctor. Now do it."

The doctor nodded and attached the transfer nodule to Raines' right and left temples. He then walked over to where his nurse was standing and nodded. "Initiate the transfer. I'll be monitoring his vitals as the transfer progresses."

"Yes, doctor."

Joshua and Jarod had stayed up late watching the Star Wars marathon. Sydney had been forced to leave, promising to return in the morning. Jarod had kept up a running commentary on the movie and Joshua input a thing or two here and there. They had eaten pizza for dinner and had just finished popcorn.

It was like being a kid again and Joshua found that it was just what he needed right now. Ironically, he felt more at ease around Jarod than he did around his friends. Renee and Liam meant well, but they would've spent their time asking questions, what he'd been through, what Sandoval said. Jarod didn't ask. Nor did Jarod harp on how he felt about his father. He didn't know Joshua's story, so he treated him like just another person . . . which Joshua found more than a little refreshing. He finally felt safe. Joshua threw a piece of leftover popcorn at Jarod, who tossed a handful back at him.

After the Star Wars marathon, Joshua introduced Jarod to the wonderful world of John Wayne movies and half an hour later, Jarod fell asleep on the couch.

Joshua turned down the volume of the TV and slowly made his way to the kitchen. Jarod had moved his silver suitcase there earlier and Joshua had seen him watching something on there.

Slowly, he opened the case and popped a circular disk that he found into some sort of player.

/Jarod? 1975? For Centre Use Only? What the heck is the Centre?/ What on Earth WAS this?

He watched the events on the DSA unfold and when they were over he could feel his initial distrust of Sydney returning. Was this the monstrous organization he had spoken of? Joshua slipped the first disk into his pocket and began to watch a second . . .

Broots sipped on his coffee as he waited for the results to come up, thinking about Miss Parker. For some reason, the fact that they just missed Jarod in Cambodia was getting under her skin more than it usually did. He remembered their trip there, how nothing with unusual about just missing him and nothing seemed out of sorts in Jarod's lair. Nope, Jarod had just left behind his usual, and it made Broots wonder why Miss Parker was grumpier than usual since their return.

"Come on, come on," he muttered as he was getting impatient for the results. The computer seemed more sluggish than usual this morning and immediately he decided that he'd ask someone else in the Tech Room to take a look at it after he was finished. The screen finally flashed:

5 MATCHING RESULTS FOUND

Broots set up straighter in his chair as he shoved the coffee aside, freeing both hands to type his next set of commands into the computer. The first two items turn out to be nothing more than articles from two small town local newspapers in which the name "Jarod" had appeared. The third one was also a waste of time as it lead to a pornographic website while the fourth lead him to a publisher's website where the name Jarod was the name of the hero of a romance novel. Just when Broots thought he would have nothing worthwhile to report to Miss Parker, the information he received nearly made him fall out of his chair.

Downloading the information into his global, Broots hurried out of the tech room, heading toward Miss Parker's office. Turning the corner in a hurry, he was suddenly thrown back when he ran into something or rather someone as it turned out to be as he stared up into the angry expressions of both Mr. Parker and Mr. Lyle.

"Is there a fire somewhere, Mr. Broots?" Mr. Parker growled as it became clear that he was the one that the technician had nearly ran over in his haste.

"O-oh, Mr. Parker, I'm sorry," Broots stuttered as he got to his feet. "I was looking for Miss Parker. Something important just came up that she needs to see."

"Is it related to Jarod?" Lyle asked.

Broots nodded rather reluctantly. "Yes."

Lyle turned to his father who was just collecting his composure again. "I'm going to go check this out. I'll see you later, Dad." Mr. Parker nodded and left them alone in the corridor. Lyle gestured to Broots to walk ahead of him. "By all means, Mr. Broots, lead the way."

Sydney just had avoided being late that morning for his meeting with Miss Parker and Broots as he'd uncharacteristically overslept. He'd been late returning from the cabin last night as he had driven up there. There were no established portal systems in the area near his cabin and even if there had been, Sydney wouldn't have use one yesterday to visit with Joshua and Jarod. No he had to keep the Centre out of this for as long as he possibly could and had he used the portals, they surely would have tracked his movements yesterday.

He arrived at the Centre with just enough time to drop off his things on his desk before heading over to Miss Parker's office where the meeting was to take place that morning. He knocked and waited for her to give her permission before he entered the room. After receiving a curt ENTER, Sydney walked in cautiously even as he attempted to gauge her mood for this morning.

"Good morning, Miss Parker," he said, brightly.

Parker shot him a glare. "Please, Syd, drop the cheerfulness. It's too earlier in the morning to be a Barney wannabe!" He nodded, sitting down in a nearby chair. "So what has you in such a good mood this morning?"

But before he could answer her, Broots came through the doors and before Parker could ask if he'd had heard of knocking before, Lyle strolled in after him. Broots glanced nervously back and forth between the two siblings as he joined Sydney. Miss Parker was less than happy to see her brother.

"What ARE you doing here, Lyle?" she asked.

"Good morning to you too, sis," Lyle replied sweetly. "I'm here because someone conveniently forgot to tell me that you were having a meeting about Jarod."

"Lyle, we have a meeting EVERYDAY about Jarod!" she replied.

"I'm aware of that but it's not everyday that Broots finds something so important that he nearly runs over our father while trying to find you," Lyle countered.

Parker took her eyes off of her twin and turned them on Broots. "You almost ran my father over?" Broots opened his mouth to stammer out a nervous reply but she halted him with a gesture. "Never mind that, Broots! You just better have something important to tell me."

Broots nodded, and taking out his global he walked over to show her what he'd found. After punching in his password, he handed it to her. "I set up this search program to scan for any signs of Jarod during the night and show the results to me the next morning. I call it--" He halted on that train of thought when Miss Parker snapped her fingers. "Anyway, the program turned up five matches. The first two matches were from two small town local newspaper featuring stories about some other people named Jarod. The third match led me to a pornographic website, while the fourth-"

"Broots, I didn't want the encyclopedia set version of what your program found, just the footnotes!" Miss Parker said impatiently. "Is this the fifth match I am looking at?" By now, Sydney and Lyle had joined her at looking at the global. They all stared at Jarod's face on what looked like a WANTED poster.

"Is this from the FBI most wanted list?" Lyle asked.

"Not exactly," Broots replied.

"Then what are we looking at, Broots?" Sydney asked.

"All right it IS from the FBI's most wanted list but this list is rather special."

"And the reason for that is?"

Broots took the global from Miss Parker's hands to tap a few of the controls before handed it back to her. The picture of another man had replaced Jarod's face on the global. "This is the FBI agent who put out an APB on Jarod. His name is Frank Tate, Special Agent Frank Tate. He works for the Taelons."

Parker's eyes widened even as Lyle began to speak the obvious question, "What the . . ."

The rest of what he was saying was drowned out by Miss Parker's, "What is a Taelon agent doing looking for Jarod? How did they find out?"

"You haven't even heard the worst part yet," Broots said, taking the global again to call up yet another file. "Tate works for one Special Agent Ronald Sandoval, who is-"

"Zo'or's personal attaché!" Sydney finished.

"Bingo, Syd!"

"What did Genius Boy do to get the attention of Zo'or's lapdog?" Parker asked as she snapped the global shut before handing it to Broots.

"I don't know. The file didn't say and I can't hack into Taelon databases to find it either," Broots replied as if he were reading her thoughts.

"I'd say that only leaves us with one option," Lyle said, starting for the door.

"And that would be?" Parker asked.

Lyle paused. "I need to have a man to man talk with Agent Tate."

"Don't you mean a rat to rat talk?" Parker asked smiling sweetly at her brother.

Lyle's only reply was an imitation of his sister's glare earlier before he stormed out of the office. As they watched Lyle leave, Miss Parker shook her head as her insane twin disappeared. She immediately turned to Broots. "I want you to find out whatever you can as to why the Taelons may want Jarod and I wanted the information yesterday." Broots nodded and while looking rather green, left her office as well.

"Care to explain to me why you looked so uncomfortable during the last part of that conversation, Syd?" she asked as soon as they were alone.

Sydney smiled at her. "I don't know what you mean, Miss Parker."

"Right, Syd, and I'm the Queen of England," she replied sarcastically. Sydney shrugged, getting up to leave the room when she grabbed his arm. "If I find out you know what's going on, that Jarod's contacting you, I won't be able to stop the Triumvirate from finding out and removing you from the case . . . or worse."

"Miss Parker, even if I had been in contact with Jarod and I knew what was going on, I wouldn't tell you from the reasons you just gave. The Triumvirate would crucify anyone that they've found helping Jarod," he replied, silently adding: And I won't risk your life as well as mine by telling you what I know... He shrugged off her grip on his arm. "If you'll excuse me, Miss Parker, I have some work that needs my attention."

Sydney arrived back at the cabin early the next morning. Jarod was conked out on the couch but Sydney didn't see Joshua at first. He went into the kitchen and stopped dead in his tracks, /Oh no!/

Joshua's head lay pillowed on his arms, the DSA player sat open and a disk was playing in it.

Jarod, who had just woken up, came up behind Sydney, "What's going . . ." he stopped midsentence, seeing Joshua and exchanged a glance with Sydney.

"I assume you did not show that to him." Sydney stated.

"No, I fell asleep. He must have seen me fooling with it earlier."

"You know how dangerous this is, especially for him!" Sydney exclaimed.

"Of course I know that Sydney." Jarod said, slight irritation in his voice. "I lived in the Centre for practically my whole life."

"I'm sorry Jarod. I wasn't able to protect you and Miss Parker, nor any of the other children from the Centre. Jonathan Doors knew from the start that they were no good but couldn't do anything either, to protect his family. I'm not going to allow his son to be pursued by the Centre."

Jarod reached over and shut off the player, popping the DSA out. It made a clicking sound, startling Joshua awake. "I see you enjoyed a third 'movie' marathon after I went to sleep."

"I think you both have some explaining to do, especially you Sydney." Joshua turned to Jarod, "How can you trust him? How can you?"

Jarod stared at him, "Do you trust me?"

Joshua nodded, "Yes." He needn't even think about that answer.

"Then trust me, Sydney is a good guy but don't ask more questions. Please. Don't."

Joshua considered and then nodded again.

Sydney spoke, "I know what you have seen on those has shaken your trust in me but there is something I need to warn you about. One of Agent Sandoval's lackeys, an Agent Tate, has put out an APB on both of you. Jarod, the Taelons are becoming very interested in finding you. I would daresay that you're in more trouble with them than Joshua is right now. Miss Parker also suspects that I know more than I'm saying . . ."

"We've got to get out of here right now." Jarod said with certainty, beginning to gather his things.

Joshua looked at him quizzically, "What is it?"

"I have a nasty feeling that someone followed Sydney out here." Joshua didn't have a response for that, save to help Jarod get stuff together.

Sydney said, "I don't think so but with the Centre you can never be sure about those things. It might be best if you do leave."

Ten minutes later, Jarod and Joshua left the house and hurried away as fast as they could. In the distance both could hear the sounds of helicopter blades . . .

"Aren't you worried about him?" Joshua asked when they were a few minutes away from the cabin.

Jarod nodded. "He'll be all right."

"What if they ask him why he was at the cabin in the first place?"

"Sydney told me he'd tell them that he was visiting Jacob."

"Who the heck is Jacob? I didn't notice anyone else there at the cabin when we got there and this doesn't seem to be the most crowded neighborhood of the state," Joshua replied.

"Jacob is or rather was Sydney's twin brother. He passed away a few years ago and was buried on the property," Jarod explained.

Joshua nodded. "Do you think they'll buy that?"

Jarod hesitated in replying. "I don't know. I hope so."

Lyle sat back in the passenger's seat as Willie drove the car through the back roads. He hoped they would beat both Sandoval and Miss Parker to the shuttle because they would then get first shot at the clues, if any, that were left behind.

Agent Tate sat in the back, glaring at the sweeper next to him. Earlier Lyle and his . . . goons had come to the Taelon embassy demanding answers. Sandoval had avoided several questions and Lyle had threatened to leak information to the media. At that point, Sandoval had ordered Tate to tag along with Lyle, giving minimal information about their encounter with Jarod. Meanwhile, Sandoval and Miss Parker were both conducting their own separate investigations.

Suddenly, flashing lights appeared in their rearview mirror. "What is going on?"

"County sheriff, Mr. Lyle." Willie said, slowing the car, "And we were speeding slightly."

They stopped and the sheriff climbed out of his car, followed by two deputies. "Going a little fast there don't you think son?"

"We're in a bit of a hurry." Suddenly an idea hit Lyle, "We're looking for these two men. They're wanted by the federal government and we're in charge of looking for them."

The man studied them and shook his head, "I ain't seen anyone like them. But I'm afraid the four of you will have to come with me to our little station."

Lyle rolled his eyes.

"For an employee of the federal government you seem to have a severe lack of respect for law enforcement, Mister." The sheriff eyed him, "One might believe you aren't who you say you are."

"And I bet it was one of these men that put that idea in your head wasn't it? I suggest that unless you want trouble . . ."

"Sir, why don't you just come down to the station peacefully so that we can straighten this thing out? If you really are who you claim to be then there is no need to make a federal case out of this." The sheriff then chortled at his own bad pun.

Lyle made a movement with his hand, as if reaching for a gun, but before he had moved more than an inch, there were three guns aimed at the car. He retracted his hand and the sheriff instructed his deputies, "Arrest em boys." Lyle cursed under his breath. Jarod was going to pay for this.

Tate wasn't too keen on being arrested, but his identity would check out perfectly, and he'd be out of here shortly. Lyle and his sweepers might have more trouble getting out of this. He went along peacefully, knowing that the better he behaved, the quicker he'd get out.

Jarod led Joshua to yet another hidden car and they began their second long drive. This time they had no problems with local law and Joshua soon recognized the familiar landmarks of the outskirts of D.C.

"Are you sure it's really a good idea to head right into D.C.?"

"No one will expect it." Jarod offered.

"That's true, but it wasn't what I asked either."

"We're not really going into D.C." Jarod said, "Just outside it. We're meeting my contact, who'll take you to your new home."

About ten minutes later, Jarod pulled in front of an old warehouse. "I was told that you were to go in alone. Are you okay with that?"

Joshua nodded, "I'll be fine." He looked over at Jarod, as if unsure what to say. "Thank you - for everything." It wasn't enough.

"You're welcome." Jarod smiled, "Now go on. And be careful. Don't do anything stupid."

"You be careful too. Sandoval's gonna be after you."

Jarod nodded. "Don't worry. He won't catch me."

Joshua entered the warehouse slowly, cautiously. He half expected Sandoval to jump out and arrest him again, a squadron of Volunteers in tow. He found himself wishing that he had a weapon.

"Joshua! Thank God!"

He jumped and turned, "Renee . . ."

She hugged him, "I didn't think Jarod could do it. I've been worried about you. Sandoval wouldn't tell me anything . ." she trailed off, hands resting on his shoulders, studying his face, reading his eyes. Finally she cleared her throat, "I'm sorry we didn't get you out of there sooner."

Joshua mustered a smile, "The important thing is that I'm out now. And I'm going to be okay."

Renee nodded quietly.

Joshua read her look and reemphasized, "Renee, I am going to be okay. It'll take some time, but I'll get there."

"You know if you need anything, someone to talk to . . . I'm here."

"Thanks Renee." He grinned, "So where is my new home? Jarod said you were gonna show me."

Four hours passed before attorneys hired by the Centre managed to get Lyle and his team of sweepers released. Tate, much to their annoyance and relief, was released an hour after they arrived at the small town jail. Gloating, the FBI agent was handed his global as he walked past their cell, and pausing momentarily Tate said: "I wish I could say that it's been real nice working with you 3 nimrods but it's been anything but." A few minutes after speaking with Sandoval, Tate departed to rejoin his boss who was currently leading the search for Jarod with the other Centre team.

Four hours in one medium sized holding cell that was already inhabited by 2 drunks, homeless by the looks of it, and 3 prostitutes. There were eight people in that cell with far too little places to sit because the drunks were passed out on two of the four benches they had in there and the prostitutes took up the third along with half of the four. To make matters worse, the drunks were polluting the air with the foul smelling breath and unwashed body odors.

Lyle took the only space left available on the bench as Willie and the sweeper took positions to discourage the other people in the cell from approaching him. Lyle sat glaring at the wall, thinking of how he would make Jarod pay for this, once the Pretender was caught. He wouldn't stand for anyone making him look like an idiot. And Jarod had done that - one too many times in his opinion.

The attorneys got the paperwork filled out as fast as they could, knowing that with Lyle's personality type it was best to not keep him waiting. The consequences of that could be less than desirable. Lyle sat looking very annoyed while Willie began to pace the cell, glaring at the other occupants.

The attorneys got the paperwork filled out as fast as they could, knowing that with Lyle's personality type it was best to not keep him waiting. The consequences of that could be less than desirable. Lyle sat looking very annoyed while Willie began to pace the cell, glaring at the other occupants.

Finally, Lyle spotted the welcome sight of Randolph M. Balding, the Centre's senior following one of the sheriff's deputies towards their cell. Lyle stood up and was at the door, waiting for the deputy to unlock it even as he spoke to Balding.

"What took SO LONG, Balding?" he asked.

Balding suppressed the urge to sigh. He HATED dealing with any of the Parkers, much less Mr. Lyle. "There was paperwork and other items of legal red tape we had to cut through before the sheriff would agree to release you, Mr. Lyle. I'm sorry but there was just no way around it." Just then, the deputy unlocked the door.

"Try to stay out of trouble!" the deputy said.

Lyle stepped out of the cell, followed closely by Wille and the other sweeper. "Let's get out of Hickville, South Carolina before I get nauseated!" he muttered to Balding before leading the charge out of the jailhouse.

Balding waited until they were out of the jailhouse to give Lyle back his global while the other attorneys with him gave the two sweepers back their personal belongings. As he handed Lyle his global he spoke again, "Oh, sir, Mr. Parker wants you to join him at the merger talks at Doors International as soon as you're finished here."

"He's taking me off the Jarod pursuit?"

"Yes, sir. He left you a recorded message on your global if you have any questions."

Lyle viewed the message and he knew then that there'd be no talking Dad out of the decision. He'd have to go to the merger talks and leave the capture of Jarod up to his sister and Agent Sandoval.

Joshua entered the hideout cautiously, following Renee. She hadn't said much as they had made their way here and he was beginning to wonder if he'd done something wrong.

Liam turned around and greeted him, "Joshua! We're glad you're okay. You're looking better than the last time I saw you."

"Thank you for helping us out on the mothership like that."

"Not a problem." Liam said, "I was a little unsure of what was going on at first."

"We've been worried about you, what they were doing to you." Renee finally spoke, quietly.

Joshua could sense that Renee was digging, in concern, for what they had done to him, "Let's just say that they were very unhappy with what I did and they showed their unhappiness time and again. But thanks to Jarod, I'm going to be fine now. And I want to help. I'll do whatever I can. Just tell what I can do. This can't go on. They killed my father, destroyed my life. It just can't go on."

"I have something for you to do." Liam said.

"What is it?" Joshua asked.

Liam said, "I think you should run the resistance."

Lyle entered the meeting, and Mr. Parker glared at him. He was obviously late . . No, make that very late.

Renee Palmer glanced over at Lyle for a moment before continuing her sentence, "I'll consider your offer and bring it before the board but this sounds very promising, Mr. Parker. I think the merger will probably be approved shortly. The Centre has been nothing but accommodating regarding this and we appreciate it."

"My pleasure Miss Palmer." The man said, gathering his things and getting up to leave, followed by several other people from the Centre. "Mr. Lyle, a moment of your time please."

Lyle could tell that his father was not pleased with his failure or his lateness. "I'll be there in a minute." First he had something he wanted to do.

Coming up behind Renee as she was gathering her stuff, he said "Join me for dinner tonight?"

She turned around and regarded him with disbelief . . . as if she couldn't believe the question he'd asked. "Excuse me?" her tone was icy. It vaguely reminded him of his sister.

"My name is Lyle. I'm with the Centre. Since I missed most of the meeting, I was thinking that maybe we could get together and discuss the merger talks in greater detail . . . . among other things."

"I'm afraid I have other business to attend to." Renee stated.

"More exciting than me?" Lyle asked, "I'm hurt." He grabbed her arm, "Surely, you'd have some time to run by my place this afternoon. I'd make it worth your while. I'm a fair cook and I've been told that I have an interesting taste when it comes to food." He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

She jerked her arm away, "Somehow I doubt that anything having to do with you would be worth my while, which means I have even more work to do."

"How so?"

"Well, if the Centre has someone like you working there, maybe I need to question the entire merger . . ." she said sweetly as she grabbed the last of her things and left.

Joshua stared at Liam in shock, "You want me to what?"

"Sandoval has become extremely suspicious of me. I think he's having me followed. I'm not capable of giving the job my full attention, and it's not fair to everyone else. Renee can't do it either. She's running Doors International now. You have the time and I know you have the motivation."

"But Liam, I know nothing about running a resistance movement!"

"But you know about making decisions - big, important ones. It's not that different from running a multi-national corporation."

"You just said you would be willing to do whatever it took. You want to get back at them. Can you think of any more perfect revenge than helping to revive the resistance your father created? And what's more, people will rally behind because of who you are. I know you don't like it, but people will take notice because you are Jonathan Doors' son. You can use that. And you also have a personal testimony about the true nature of the Taelons. Plus you can actually be vocal and known - I can't."

Joshua opened his mouth but ended up nodding. Liam had some very good points.

"You won't be doing it alone. Street, Renee and I will be helping you." Street looked up and smiled, Renee nodded at him once. "And you can run it from here, like your father did."

"Okay," Joshua said tentatively, "So I'd live here? Underground?"

"You know that dear old Ronnie will never let you return to living up there." Renee said.

"I know." he sighed. "Okay, I'll do it. If you will all help me then I'll do it." Joshua couldn't believe that they had given him this . . . he also couldn't believe he was stupid enough to agree to it. How could HE run a resistance? Sure, he admitted that he probably had the knowledge to do it, but to actually lead something like this? That was a big step.

Joshua took off his jacket and threw it over the back of a couch. He moved to one of the computer terminals and began to go through some of the files that Liam had suggested he look over, detailing how his father had run the resistance. He didn't notice that the DSA in his pocket, which he'd forgotten about, fell out onto the floor.

Renee sighed as she stepped into the former resistance headquarters, which would now probably return to its former purpose. It had been a long grueling day at work, and then, to top it all off Agent Ronald Sandoval had come poking around. He probably suspected she had something to do with Joshua's rescue. After a nice long talk, during which Sandoval did most of the talking, he had let her go. If only the man knew . . . his escapee was now running the Resistance. Sandoval would love that.

She tried to imagine the expression on Sandoval's face when Joshua finally decided to officially announce his new role. Livid mixed with furious with a dash of the "if looks could kill" deal. Multiply that by a billion or so and that would be about the look on Sandoval's face.

After Jarod had brought Joshua back to them she had tried to get Joshua to open up and tell her what had happened. Oddly enough, he had been rather vague on it. It was as if he'd dealt with his feelings already, had already worked through them. And he had not wanted to discuss it - that much had been plain.

She glanced around and found that Liam was no longer there. But Dr. Belman was still hanging around, hovering over near Joshua, who was pouring over computer files. Belman had insisted on checking Joshua out. He had relented, but afterwards had gone right back to work, as if nothing were wrong. Renee had seen the results of Belman's exam - evidence of the torture was plain.

Renee pulled a chair over beside Joshua, watching as he read some more files. "Why?"

Joshua jumped, "What? Oh Renee, you startled me."

"Why have you thrown yourself into this? I saw the medical report. You should take it easy."

"Renee, for the last few months, I've sat around on the mothership. I've been experimented on, beaten, and tortured. I know that there are other people up there too going through that right now. That's two reasons why I can't - maybe I can't save them, maybe I can. The Taelons should not be able to do this to people though." His voice was passionate, believing that just as ferverently as Jonathan had, perhaps more so because of his experience.

She nodded, understanding, and turned to handle some of her business.

"Renee," Joshua called, looking up from the screen, "Thank you for what you did. I know you took a risk asking for help to save me."

She smiled and nodded, "No problem at all. I love doing anything I can to annoy Ronnie. Besides, I couldn't leave a friend of mine in that mess."

Joshua nodded back at her and turned back to the computer files. Renee moved to the other side of the room and started to leave, but something caught her eye. A small shiny circle sat on the floor. She picked up the disc. /Better check this out when I get back to my apartment/.


	4. Chapter 4

Renee practically collapsed on her couch after she threw her things down on the table. Having to deal with Sandoval always made for a long, excruciating day. And there was something odd about his attitude, as if something else were on his mind, besides finding Joshua again. Renee knew that she couldn't allow him to recapture Joshua. She couldn't begin to imagine what Sandoval would do to him . . .

She thought back over Joshua's earlier request,

___"And Renee, I . . . if Sandoval catches me again . . . I don't want to live through another six months of his . . . treatment. I'd . . . I'd rather____die at my own choosing . . ."_

___Renee nodded, understanding what he was asking, "Joshua . . ." she began._

___"Look, I know it won't be necessary, but just in case, it'll be comforting to know." Joshua said._

Renee found Sandoval's preoccupation with something else odd, because this was the kind of situation that Sandoval would HAVE to prove his superiority. To capture Joshua before word got out of his experience and he discredited the Taelons.

Renee sighed and picked up the disk she had found on the floor of the hideout. She turned it over in her hand, wondering what was on it . . . /Well, there's only one way to find out/. And she popped the thing into the disk reader.

As she watched the disk, she felt disgust creeping through her mind. To find this out . . . was unbelievable. She had trusted him . . . and he had lied.

Jarod entered the abandoned building cautiously. Joshua's urgent email had concerned him a lot. He had kept an eye on where Sandoval was looking, just in case, so he could warn Joshua. They had also set up a line of communication for emergencies only. Jarod had found out from Kara, the leader of the cell he had last been in, that Joshua was the new resistance leader. Only a few people knew so far, and Jarod knew he'd do a good job.

The email from him had come late last night. The message itself was very vague and cryptic, leaving this as the place to meet. What concerned him most was that Joshua had not answered the emails he had sent back. Jarod wondered if Sandoval was the problem. If Sandoval were to catch Joshua again, he'd likely be out of reach for everyone, including Jarod. And no telling what would happen to him.

Jarod turned around at a noise behind him and suddenly a sensation washed over him and he collapsed. Just before he lost consciousness, he saw teams of Volunteers and sweepers entering the building.

Joshua hurried toward the building he was to meet Jarod at. Jarod had sent him an urgent message. He hoped that nothing was bad wrong, but with their luck . . . And Joshua hated the fact that he'd run so late but there was so much to do before they announced him as leader, so much for him to look over and so on. He'd gotten into studying some files and had just totally lost all track of time.

Joshua turned a corner and suddenly ducked back. He'd nearly run right into a group of Volunteers, and he heard Sandoval nearby, giving orders. Could this be coincidence that the building he and Jarod were to meet at was just around the corner? He thought not.

/They probably have captured Jarod already and they're waiting for me . . . Thank God I was running late . . ./

Joshua pulled out the gun that Renee had insisted he carry with him, and backed into an alley. He pulled out his global, "Liam, I think we have a problem . . ."

Miss Parker exclaimed a stream of curses as she watched Jarod crumple to the floor. She turned her gun on Sandoval. "What is the matter with you? I said we were going to take him unharmed!"

"Relax, Miss Parker. Mr. Jarod is merely unconscious."

"You BETTER be right," She nodded to Sam. "Check him out. If he's alive, cuff him."

"Yes, Miss Parker."

"That won't be necessary, Miss Parker. My men will prepare Mr. Jarod for his journey to the mothership," Sandoval replied, nodding to the nearby Tate. Tate started forward at the same time as Sam and the two of them reached Jarod at the same time.

Parker laughed. "The mothership? I don't think so, Agent Sandoval. He belongs to the Centre; we have first rights to him when and if he's recaptured. Your freakazoid glow-in-the-dark alien bosses are just going to have to wait their turn. Sam, take care of Jarod. Now."

At Sandoval's signal, Tate pulled his gun on Sam, "Hold it!"

FBI, Volunteers, and a Sweeper Team stood ready to have a nasty shoot out when another party entire the room. "Oh, God-- Jarod!" Everyone in the room turned to see Sydney enter the room and before anyone could move or speak; he was already on the floor beside Jarod's still form. As he checked Jarod for signs of life he shot an evil look at Parker and Sandoval. "What happened here? He was supposed to be taken unharmed!"

"Sydney? How did you get here?" Parker snapped.

"I brought him," a new voice joined the group.

Sandoval turned to look at the new arrival. "Major."

"Sandoval," Liam acknowledged, "What's going on here?"

"Apparently there's been a slight miscommunication here. Agent Sandoval seems to be under the impression I allowed him to join my search for Jarod so that when we caught him, he could be carted up to the Taelon mothership," Miss Parker replied, shooting Sandoval an icy stare.

Sandoval smiled coldly at her. "There's been no miscommunications, Miss Parker," he replied, placing a sarcastic emphasis on her name, "We allowed your search teams access to Companion resources and weaponry to

capture your escapee. That gives us first rights to him."

"Over my dead body."

Sandoval looked at Sydney. "Don't tempt me, Mr.-"

"It's doctor, and I don't respond very well to threats," Sydney replied.

"Doctor, as I was saying, don't tempt me to have you all arrested for several violations of the Taelon/Human accords, not to mention for use of weapons against federal agents. The legal mess that would cause would be a very nasty inconvenience for all parties involved," Sandoval replied.

"You are NOT taking Jarod to the mothership," Parker replied.

"Uh, Miss Parker? Jarod is starting to wake up," Sam said.

"Cuff him, Sam. NO arguments from you, Syd!" Miss Parker said, not taking her eyes off Sandoval. "Oh I hope that's okay with you, Agent Sandoval, because I am NOT going to have Jarod escaping from us again while we standing here trying to decide where to send Jarod." Her voice was heavy with sarcasm but still Sandoval raised an eyebrow.

"If I may make a suggestion?" Liam said, stepping in-between Parker and Sandoval.

"What?" Parker asked.

"Make your suggestion, Major."

"Since there seems to be some debate as to what party has legal rights to take Mr. Jarod into their custody, may I suggest we move him to a neutral but trustworthy location. Say, Doors International? I've already talked with Miss Palmer before coming here and she agree to help us out," Liam suggested, looking at each as he spoke.

"There's just one problem with that suggestion, Major--"

"The Centre and Doors International are currently engaged in merger talk."

"I'm aware of that, Agent Sandoval, Miss Parker. However, both parties officially ended the talks nearly 20 minutes ago without being able to reach an agreement that both were happy with. The Centre AND DI are still separate corporate entities and therefore, Doors International would be the best neutral site to send Mr. Jarod until we can decide WHO has legal claims to him. Agreed?" Liam asked.

"I'll have to clear it with my superiors," Parker said.

"As will I," Sandoval added.

"All right."

Each stepped aside to make global calls.

Sydney walked up to Liam. "Thank you, Major Kincaid."

"For what?" Liam asked.

"For giving Jarod a chance to remain free from Hell a little while longer," Sydney replied.

Miss Parker was the first to return. "Major, if we do this, let's get something straight. I WILL BE sending a team of sweepers along with Jarod to Doors International. They will have orders to shoot to kill if he even tries to escape."

"Miss Parker, that goes against the orders of the Triumvirate, not to mention your father's orders regarding Jarod," Sydney said.

"Frankly, Sydney, I don't care! I am TIRED of chasing Jarod around. He will be delivered to the Centre even if it means we have to present him to the Triumvirate, stone cold in a body bag. He WILL be delivered," she replied.

Sandoval returned at that moment. "Zo'or has agreed to this arrangement for the time being. I will also be sending along my own team to guard Mr. Jarod."

Even when he was drugged, Jarod was restless. By some miracle, Sydney had been allowed to sit in the small room that was serving as a cell for Jarod. Sydney was so grateful that the sweepers and FBI agent where seated just outside of the closed door, giving him the privacy he needed while he did some much needed thinking.

Could he really let the Centre take Jarod back? Before he'd lost consciousness after being drugged for the second time since being stunned by the Volunteers forces, Jarod had looked at Sydney, his eyes almost pleading as he spoke in a frightened whisper to the man he saw as a father.

"Sydney, please, don't let them take me back there. I can't live through that again."

Jarod. . .

How could he have helped the Centre rob another human being's life like that?

Sydney thought about the beginning of the Pretender project, and he remembered how excited he had been at the thought of actually helping one of the child geniuses who would be coming into the Centre to hone and sharpen their natural abilities, to help them apply them in any number of applications that would eventually help thousands of people.

Once the Centre had been a force for good in the world. . .

Now they used any information they got through research for their own purposes.

"He should have lived a normal life." Syd had told Miss Parker one time when they were trapped in that condemned building and he was hurt badly. He admitted to her, he should have gotten Jarod to freedom and not has been afraid of what they could do to him.

"You can't kill someone who's already dead." he had told her when she said they would have killed him.

It was true.

You couldn't.

Now Sydney sat as a guardian watching over Jarod's sleeping form, struggling with his own demons even as he hoped Jarod's own demons weren't tormenting him as he slept. If the room were bigger, Sydney would have paced but instead all he could do was sit and watch Jarod.

"Dear God," he breathed. He stopped as he realized he was about to pray for help in getting Jarod free again. "Couldn't hurt." he finally muttered. He left the chair he'd been sitting in, kneeling to pray even as he crossed himself.

Sam the sweeper leaned forward as he saw Sydney kneel on the floor. Tate also leaned forward as Sydney began silently to pray. Tate actually began to laugh as they continued to watch. Sam gave Tate an evil look.

"What IS your problem, FBI?" he asked.

"I can't believe he's praying, like God can help him or that sleeper now," Tate replied.

"What's wrong with praying, FBI?" Sam replied.

Tate rolled his eyes. "Nothing is wrong with it . . .but that's only if you're a child or a simpleton. Only they have faith in a higher, supreme power."

"Doctor Green is hardly a simpleton, FBI. I find that offensive. In fact I find your entire attitude offensive. Heck, I find you offensive period!" Sam said.

Tate snickered. "Don't tell me you believe in God too?"

"What if I do, FBI?"

"Listen, the name's Tate and you're a simpleton!"

Sam stood up, ready to cross the room and pound Tate's face in. Another sweeper stepped in between them. "Both of you, cool off! We're supposed to be watching Jarod because if he escapes, Miss Parker will have our butts in a sling! Sit down, FBI!" Tate complied but Sam remained standing. "You too, Sam."

Sam sat down, muttering a few obscenities about the FBI under his breath before he returned his attention to the screen. He'd be very happy when this whole thing was decided and they could return to the Centre where they would leave this imbecile FBI agent behind.

His mother had always encouraged both him and Jacob to pray whenever they faced a situation that seemed beyond their control. She'd told them God would hear their prayer and would send them the help they needed in some form or another. When he was a boy, Syd had believed what she'd told him, but had stopped believing in God for a time after the Nazis had killed his parents in the gas chambers at Dachau. Years later, his faith in God had returned in small measures but it was never as strong as it had been before his parents' death

Sydney crossed himself again, ending the prayer. He didn't know if it'd really help or if God was even interested in listening to him anymore, but he knew he felt a little better about the situation. If they took Jarod back to the Centre, he had promised himself and God that he'd helped Jarod not only live through that situation but also he'd find a way to see him free again, once and for all.

"I still think we should use the portal." Joshua argued.

"I don't think that will be possible." Renee said.

Liam had come to them about 20 minutes ago and had filled them in on a little situation. That Jarod HAD been captured by Sandoval and the Centre as Joshua had feared and that he was being held in Doors International till an agreement was reached.

Joshua sighed, "Why not, Renee? It's easy, it's fast."

"And it also requires an access code. The only one I have is mine and we cannot use that one."

"The code is the easy part." Joshua said.

Liam looked at him quizzically, "Why do you say that? Do you know someone elses' code?"

"No, but did Doors International ever take the time to deactivate mine?" Joshua asked, "I still have it."

"That could actually work," Renee said.

"It has too." Joshua said intensely, "We can't leave him in their hands. He saved my life and I owe him that much."

After he finished praying, Sydney sat back down beside his protégé, surprised at how much the prayer seemed to lift the burden off of his shoulders. Yes, the situation was still grim but Sydney now felt, as though he were not alone in this anymore, that Jarod would be free again. At that moment he smiled as he could swear to hearing his mother's voice just then, whispering encouragement.

_"God never forsakes those who are His children, even if we forsake Him. If you ever feel alone, mon chéri, call on God and He will answer you."_

"Merci, Maman. Papa," Sydney whispered.

Sydney's thoughts were interrupted by a loud crack . . . that sounded like thunder. It was so loud that Sydney found himself wondering if this was some answer to his prayer. Almost immediately, the room began filling with a smoke . . . Sydney heard Sam and several of the other sweepers yelling on one side and the sound of a portal activating on the other.

A voice spoke, "We've got to get out of here . . ." and grabbed one of Jarod's arms.

Sydney quickly grabbed the other, "I thought I told you to stay out of Centre politics . . ."

Joshua grinned, "Fine, you can yell at me later. And I'm not sure this qualifies as politics. More like . . . war?" They quickly got Jarod to the portal through which Joshua had just come through and disappeared.

Seconds later, Tate and Sam arrived just in time to see the portable portal blown to smithereens.

Both winced, knowing they were both likely in deep trouble . . .

Renee had arrived shortly before to sit with Jarod so Joshua made his way to the elevator and up into the sanctuary of St. Michael's. Sydney had gone up there earlier, and it concerned him that Sydney had not yet returned.

Joshua found Sydney sitting in the back row of pews, his head bowed in prayer or perhaps thought. Joshua came and quietly sat next to him.

Sydney looked up, "How are you doing?"

Joshua gave a half-smile, "I think I should be asking you that. I'm sorry. I didn't really intend for Renee to see the DSA. I had even forgotten that I had it . . ."

"She would have discovered the truth anyway. Don't worry about that."

"I think I understand why you stayed with the Centre - you wanted to try and make a difference and you were worried about what might happen to your friends and the children if you did leave. You thought that by staying there you were helping . . ."

Sydney nodded. "But I should have tried to be more active about things and I might have saved Jarod . . ."

Joshua nodded, "And you might have also been killed trying to do so and then Jarod would have been left there alone." He paused, "Sydney, I know Renee doesn't approve but I've found a way that you can go back if you want to . . . without problems. I'm not trying to get rid of you. You're welcome to stay as long as you need, but Jarod told me that you'd want to return."

Sydney looked up, "As odd as it may sound, that is where I belong. That is where I can make a difference, maybe even help Jarod find out who he is. What's your plan?"

"I'll announce that the Resistance kidnapped the two of you. Jarod is actually a logical person to want to kidnap and he can stay with us. You were, of course, in the wrong place at the wrong time, so the Resistance lets you go."

Sydney smiled, "Liam mentioned that you were now the leader of the Resistance."

Joshua grinned back, "I'm not entirely sure I'm up to the task but I'm doing my best."

"You'll do fine."

"Well to be honest Sydney, I'm not sure what the heck I'm doing half the time." Joshua stifled a yawn.

Sydney looked amused, "Looks like you should be spending more of your time sleeping."

"And on that happy note, I think I'm going to go do just that." Joshua said, "Let me know what you decide to do and I'll take care of the rest." With another yawn, Joshua disappeared back down into the hideout.

With the drugs finally cleared from his system, Jarod was finally able to stay awake. It was agreed that someone would be present in the hideout with him and Sydney until their situation had been resolved. With both the Centre and the Taelons looking for them, the safest place for them to be was there in the former Resistance headquarters.

So Renee, Liam, Street, and Doctor Belman all took turns coming to stay at the underground. Renee was pointedly avoiding Sydney during her watch in the hideout. She'd bring work with her to the headquarters, only talking to Jarod when he'd ask her a question. If Sydney was hurt by her actions, he hid it well, choosing to read the books Belman had brought him at his request.

"You're being unfair," Jarod said.

They were alone as Sydney had gone above to spend sometime in the sanctuary of St. Michael's. Nearby, Joshua was napping on one of the many couches scattered throughout the room. Renee was seated at a table getting some work done that she'd brought with her from Doors International.

She looked up at him. "Come again?"

"I said you're being unfair," Jarod repeated.

"Who am I being unfair to? You? Joshua?"

Jarod nodded no. "You've treated me very fairly and as to how you've treated Joshua, well then only you can be the judge of that."

"Wait a minute, if you're about to go and say that I've been unfair to Sydney, then stop right there," Renee said. She got up and walked over to the kitchenette that Augur installed in the place before he left to fix herself a cup of coffee.

"What has Sydney ever done to you?" Jarod asked, joining her.

Renee looked him in the eye. "He lied to me about his work, what he's been involved with. And how can you of all people, Jarod, defend him? He helped those people keep you from your family and locked away for over 30 years."

"Yes, it's true. Sydney did help them keep me from my family, a family he believed was dead. He also helped them to keep me in that place and the truth is I have struggled with trying to forgive him for everything he played a role in at the Centre. I'll be struggling with the issue for a long time to come. But, Renee, you have no idea what my life would have been like without Sydney's presence in my life. He protected me from a lot of what they wanted to do to me," Jarod said.

Renee gave him a look of skepticism before going to sit back down on the couch. She sipped her coffee in careful thought a minute before she set the cup down, and set back to look at Jarod as he resumed his seat across from her.

"How exactly was your life at the Centre?"

Jarod's eyes closed as painful memories resurfaced. "I won't lie to you, Renee. It was a lonely, isolated existence. I had my childhood robbed from me because I had no idea what life was like on the outside for other kids."

"You said that Sydney protected you in there. What I want to know is, in what way did he protect you?"

"In the Centre," Jarod began, "There was another doctor named William Raines and like Sydney he was part of the Pretender Project." Jarod paused again, his tone of voice chilling Renee. "This man should have never been allowed to work with children, much less called himself a doctor."

"What kind of things did this doctor do?"

Jarod got up to move around the room as he talked. "Raines had several gifted children entrusted to his care but the two I know for certain he destroyed was a boy named Timmy. Timmy was also showed the gifts of being a Pretender like me but unlike me he wasn't fortunate to have a mentor like Sydney who was patient enough to mold his gifts at his pace of development."

Jarod took a deep breath before continuing, "As a result being impatient, Raines tried an experiment on Timmy to speed up the development of his mind. He used electrical shocks on an innocent young boy, Renee, and as a result the boy known as Timmy died that day."

"You mean Raines killed him?"

Jarod nodded no. "No, he didn't kill him in the usual sense of the word. Raines erased all the original personality that little boy had. He made Timmy into a person who is now more like a human sponge, absorbing in the emotions of others around him and giving him another name to complete the process."

Renee stared at him in disbelief. "Is he still alive?" Jarod nodded yes. "How could someone do that to a child?"

"I don't know."

"Jarod, what does this have to do with Sydney?"

"Besides teaching me the skills I've used to help Joshua as well as countless other people since I escaped the Centre, Sydney also protected me from Raines. Raines always wanted the Triumvirate-"

"The who?"

"The Triumvirate are the powers behind the Centre, the powers that be if you will. They are the force that gives the Centre its power over other people's lives," Renee nodded, "Anyway, Raines always wanted them to hand me over to his care so that he could have me working on the projects that he wanted, in the way he wished."

"There was another Pretender in the Centre I knew, a boy named Kyle who was under the care of Raines. We worked on several projects together before one day they took him away, never letting me see him again. It wasn't until years later, after I escaped from the Centre that I knew what had happened to him.

Raines secretly kept Kyle on a level of the Centre no one but him knew existed. He kept Kyle there, working with him even further when he should have been released and he turned a gifted young boy into a cold, violent sociopath."

Renee shuddered, and reached forward to pick up her coffee. Jarod knew that she was shocked and appalled by what she'd heard. He had only told her a small part of everything, electing to not tell her that Kyle was his younger brother or that he was now dead. He hoped that maybe, she'd now understand that Sydney wasn't the horrible man she thought he was.

Finally after a moment, Jarod picked up his jacket from a nearby chair, slipping into it. He turned to Renee, "Think about what I've said. Sydney is a good man at heart. He just hasn't always made the right choices but his heart was in the right place for the choices he has made." He walked to the elevator. "Think about it, Renee."

"Mr. Raines? Can you hear me? Mr. Raines?"

It had been over five minutes since the transfer had ended but Raines had yet to open the eyes of his new body. The doctor looked at his nurse concerned.

"Maybe it didn't work, doctor," she suggested.

"Oh no, it did work. He's just not waking up," the doctor replied. "Mr. Raines? You need to open your eyes, sir."

Suddenly the bio-surrogates eyes snapped open and William Raines stared back at the other man. "I see that it worked." He drew in a deep breath, enjoying the sensation of being able to breathe again without horrendous pain.

And without that oxygen tank!

"Yes, sir, it worked better than we expected it to."

Raines sat up and looked at his decrepit body and he nearly shuddered at the sight of his opened eyes as they stared up lifeless into the dark ceiling of SL-17. The nurse brought over a set of clothing for Raines even as the doctor began to speak.

"Shall I have your old body taken to the morgue, sir?" the doctor asked, facing away from him as he wrote some down on a clipboard.

Within the next second, the doctor dropped to the floor with a thump, dead. The nurse screamed and ran for the door but Raines reached it before she did. She slowly backed away from him, tears in her eyes as she searched for a means to stay alive.

"Please, sir. I won't tell anyone about this," she breathed. He backed her into a corner. As she passed a cart, she grabbed a hypodermic needle as her only means of defense. "Please don't kill me."

Raines only came closer to her. . .


	5. Chapter 5

Jarod quietly entered the sanctuary of St. Michael's church to find that Sydney seemed to be praying as he was seated in one of the back pews. His eyes were closed, his head bowed, and as Jarod neared him, he could see his mentor's lips moving, uttering a supplication before God in his native French. Not wanting to disturb him, Jarod slid into a pew three rows up from him.

He stared at the beautiful stain glass etching of St. Michael that was on the front left of the church, while the center depicted a dying Jesus on the cross, and there was not a third stain glass picture. He stared at the stain glass of Jesus, not fully understanding what the picture represented. The Centre had frowned upon him learning about religions of the outside world beyond any such knowledge he would need for simulation applications. He had asked Sydney to tell him about the religion he had been taught as a child. Sydney had replied by telling him that he'd been taught to have faith in God as a child but he had refused to explain it further when Jarod had asked.

Since his escape from the Centre, Jarod had yet to taken the time to learn about more than a few of the world's religions as there seemed to be so many out there, so many paths to God. Jarod often wondered which god it was that Sydney had been taught to believe in as a child. Perhaps he should ask him, as it now seemed to be a good of a time as any. . .

His thoughts were interrupted as he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked up to see Sydney sitting down beside him in the pew, a look of amusement on his face.

"I know that look," Sydney began quietly, "You're curious about something."

Jarod nodded, looking again at the stain glass image of Christ in front of them. "I was just thinking about religion."

"And what were you thinking about religion?"

"I'm not sure I really understand it, Sydney. I've researched some religion in the time since I left the Centre but I don't understand how people choose a theology that they seem to trust with their beings," he motioned towards the stain glass, "And how does someone choose which god they follow?"

They were both avoiding the reason that caused Jarod to seek him out in the sanctuary and they both knew it. But still Sydney decided to answer his questions first, lest neither of them gather up the courage or the strength to say what needed to be said between them.

"Parents," Sydney began, wincing at the word even as he watched Jarod closely, "Parents are the ones who usually teach their children about their own beliefs, theology, or philosophy that they follow themselves."

A sad smile crossed Jarod's lips. "What did your parents teach you, Sydney?"

"Both of my parents were Catholic, their faith in God very strong," he replied.

"Is that how you survived Dachau?" Jarod asked, hearing a sharp intake of breath by Sydney at the question. "Is that how you survived the loss of your parents? Your family?"

If Jarod had looked at him at that moment he would have seen the tears in his mentor's eyes. Sydney tore his gaze away from Jarod, trying to quell the pain the questions had brought up.

"In that place, the only two things my brother and I had to help us survive were each other and the God our parents had tried to teach us about before they died. I clung to that belief as a boy in that camp and after we were liberated from that place of death."

"And now?"

Sydney shrugged. "It's a difficult question to answer, Jarod. The world has changed a great deal since I was a boy in France. I've tried to honor my parents' memory by believing in what they did, but I haven't always succeeded in the endeavor. For a long time now, I've turned away from God, not even praying as I once did." Sydney looked at him. "That changed when I realized you were about to be taken back to the Centre."

"You really don't want me back there, do you?" Jarod asked.

"No, Jarod, I don't because you belong out in the world using the gifts you were given to help those who need it. You've done a lot of good in the world since your escape," Sydney paused. "I'm proud of what you've accomplished in the last 3 years."

"Sydney, I . . ." Jarod found himself unable to finish the sentence. "That means a lot to me. I've always wondered what you thought of my actions . . . I have always admired and respected what you thought." Jarod stopped, leaving the thought feeling somewhat unfinished, a fact that Sydney noticed.

"I was always afraid to give you my support, because if the Centre knew and you were caught, I couldn't protect you. Although, that was obviously a pointless exercise, given what happened when they did catch you." Sydney shifted slightly, "I never wanted anything to happen to you, much less be responsible for it. My biggest regret was not giving you what you deserved - a childhood and a family."

"You didn't totally fail Sydney."

Renee sat for several minutes after Jarod's departure staring at the elevator doors as the Pretender's words sank in. Was she really judging Sydney too harshly for what he'd done?

Renee sat wondering whether her anger toward Sydney was justified or not. She herself had done things she wasn't proud of . . . so had Jonathan, and Joshua. Why should Sydney's offense hurt her so much? Then she realized the answer. It wasn't because his sin was worse. It was because she had placed so much faith in him as a person and the disappointment level was greater . . .

Renee jumped as a hand entered her vision field from behind and reaching around her shut the monitor off where she'd been watching their guests in the sanctuary. She turned around annoyed at whoever had caught her spying on Jarod and Sydney, even as she was embarrassed.

"Joshua," she said. "How long have you been awake?"

"Long enough to know you were spying on them. Renee, how could you?" Joshua asked, clearly disappointed with her. "They deserve some privacy, complete privacy."

Renee's eyes narrowed at him. "Why do you feel so strongly about giving them complete privacy?"

Joshua pointed to Jarod's recently retrieved DSA player. "Renee, Jarod spent most of his life being watched by a camera, recording everything he said, everything he did. I've seen several of them. Can you imagine how that felt? I've lived my life under a microscope, because of who my father was, but nothing like what Jarod experienced. He shouldn't have to worry about his friends watching him too."

"Why aren't you upset with Sydney then? He helped them do that to Jarod."

"I think you already know the answer to that. You know Sydney isn't an evil man, you just feel betrayed because you didn't know the whole truth. I'm not saying that you shouldn't be angry, but it is unfair to ignore him and hate him because he's made mistakes. We've all done things we regret. I know I have. Do you hate me for my mistakes? Or my father?" Joshua stopped, studying her face.

Renee glared at him, "I can't believe you're on his side. What good has he really done? He could have found a way to free Jarod. He had a choice and he did the wrong thing."

"Who do you think told Jarod about me? When he met with you he already knew, because Sydney had told him. But I suppose you'd view that as using Jarod to accomplish his own ends, wouldn't you?" Joshua asked bitterly, trying hard to control his temper. He wanted to help Renee understand, not refocus her anger.

But Renee hadn't heard the tone of his voice, only his words. "Sydney did that?" Perhaps she had been harsh in her judgement.

"Yes, he did. And think about this. Sydney is the one who raised Jarod, he taught him to care. How many people out there do you know that would risk their lives, and everything else they hold dear to help a stranger? I don't know too many people who would do that. But both Jarod and Sydney risked everything to help me - someone they didn't know. If Sydney was as you say, then I would still be up there at Sandoval's mercy -- or . . . I'd be dead."

"Joshua . . . someone might have . . ."

He interrupted, "No. You and I both know that no one could save me. No one with any desire to help me knew I was still alive except you and Liam and no public official in their right minds would go against the Taelons. Not one person on this planet would've withstood that kind of wrath. Except for Jarod, I was there until I died." Joshua paused then began again, "I don't agree with everything that Sydney did, but I'm extremely grateful to him and Jarod for saving me."

Renee studied him thoughtfully.

Joshua continued, "You don't know what it was like up there. I had no control over anything - not really. They controlled my body, my mind, and every day I sat perched on the edge of insanity. Renee, I prayed for death, just to get away from the pain . . ." He trailed off, composing himself, "Please Renee, talk to Sydney."

"Jarod, I'm going back," Sydney announced, ending the awkward silence between them.

"Sydney, no. They'll kill you...or worse!" Jarod replied, knowing he was speaking of the Centre.

"They won't if they believe that we were both abducted by the Resistance at Doors International," Sydney replied. "Joshua is planning to announce that we are both 'guests' of the Resistance, and while they are going to release me, they'll be 'keeping' you here with them."

Jarod nodded. "Tell me, Sydney, why would you choose to return to the Centre? You're finally free of them."

"And what would I do with this new found freedom, Jarod?"

"Join the Resistance, perhaps? They need all the help they can get. Joshua will need help if he's going to rebuild the organization to the way it was under Jonathan Doors," Jarod suggested, drawing a laugh from his mentor.

"I'm sorry, Jarod, but I don't believe that's the one thing I can do," He sobered. "Do you want to know what has kept me at the Centre after you escaped?"

Jarod smiled. "I don't have to ask. You've stayed behind because of Miss Parker. She needs someone to watch over her in that den of wolves. And I suspect that you also try to watch over Mr. Broots."

"Yes, him as well as he has become a friend and because he has a daughter who needs him."

"I understand," Jarod replied. "How soon will Joshua make the announcement about us?"

"As soon as they can find a way for the announcement to be made as widespread as possible. Joshua is hopeful they'll be able to break through the lockdown the Taelons have on global airwaves because he wants the entire world to the news."

The opportunity to break the lockdown presented itself a few hours later. Street managed to hack through the firewalls. "Okay, I'm done - all we have to do now is broadcast."

"How long will I have before they can cut me off?"

"That's the good part - once I'm inside their system, they really can't do much. You'll pretty much have as long as you want."

"Good," Joshua said nervously, "I'm not entirely sure what to say."

"Hey, you're the lawyer. Just think about it this way, you're prosecuting the Taelons . . . just more casually than in a courtroom."

"Yeah." Joshua said, "Are you sure they won't be able to trace the signal?"

Street said, "What do you think I am? An amateur? Of course they can't trace it. I've scattered the signal so much that even Augur would have a time cracking this one."

"Excuse me," said Jarod, "But what exactly does a drill have to do with this situation?"

Everyone stared at him blankly for a second, then started laughing as they understood.

"Augur, in this case at least, is a person. This used to be his home." explained Renee.

"He had to leave not long ago because the Taelons were hot on his trail." Liam added, "I hope he made it to safety."

"Anyway, all you have to do is press this button when you're ready and it'll start broadcasting, all over the world. And don't worry, I've set it to block out the background of the room when it starts. Sandoval won't get any clues from this."

"He'll be plenty ticked off though." Renee said. "Zo'or as well."

"Not that I care." Joshua responded. "They've ticked me off." He took a deep breath, "Let's do this."

With that, everyone began to clear from the room, any stray noises might give Sandoval the clues he needed to catch one of them.

Joshua closed his eyes ___Please don't let me screw this up._

He took another deep breath, pressed the button, and began to talk.

"As I'm sure many of you are aware, my name is Joshua Doors. And I'm the son of Jonathan Doors, former leader of the Resistance. I'm sure you also know that I'm supposed to be dead. Obviously, reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated."

___Keep going, Joshua. You can do this._ He told himself.

"I'm sure you're wondering where I've spent my time since my alleged 'death'. Well, I spent it on board the mothership. Nor was it the most pleasant experience of my life. They had me tortured and used in experiments. And they were planning to kill me. Fortunately, I managed to get away."

___Okay, half truth time - can't risk hurting Jarod or anyone else_

"They let me know quite bluntly what they thought of humans - that we are totally insignificant and are good only to be used to prolong their survival or to try and find ways to do so. They think we're stupid enough to buy all the crap they're shoveling. These atrocities against humanity cannot and will not continue. And if they do, the Taelons will have to deal with the consequences. And I think it would be a good gesture if the Taelons would release the other people they're holding prisoner on the mothership. These people are being tortured and experimented on and no one deserves to have to suffer that. No one. Earlier this week, we rescued two people from the clutches of the Taelons. One will be returning to his life tomorrow and we expect the Taelons to leave him alone. We'll be watching. The other has elected to remain with us."

"And this is for Zo'or and the Taelon Synod - The Resistance is back and if you thought you had problems dealing with it under my father, think again. We're going to be watching your actions very closely, and we aren't going to let you get away with hurting one more human being."

Joshua cut the transmission. Moments later, Renee, Liam, Street, Sydney, and Jarod entered. "So, how did I sound?"

"Like trouble - at least from a Taelon perspective," said Street.

Zo'or silently waved the datastream off and the entire bridge was engulfed by silence.

Sandoval stood uncomfortably on the side.

"Agent Sandoval, would you care to tell me exactly how a prisoner manages to escape and not one month later announces himself as leader of the Resistance?"

"Zo'or, it was your doctor who aided in Mr. Doors' escape." Sandoval calmly reminded him.

"Whom you should have been watching, need I remind you, Agent Sandoval."

"Zo'or," started Sandoval.

Zo'or made a motion that he should be silent and Sandoval knew he was in serious trouble. At that moment, two volunteers entered the bridge. "I am not interested in listening to your excuses. You should have apprehended him prior to this incident. You shall spend the next 24 hours in Mr. Doors' cell. Perhaps that will be sufficient motivation, for if you do not, you shall remain there - permanently."

At that, the two volunteers led an indignant and furious Agent Sandoval away, leaving Zo'or on the bridge, alone with his thoughts.

Zo'or smiled wickedly. He knew how to motivate these pathetic humans. Agent Sandoval would find Joshua Doors . . . of that he was certain, not that he really would have followed through on his threat. Agent Sandoval was far too valuable to get rid of, especially given the surprises he had for Mr. Doors when he was recaptured. Besides, Sandoval also presented a very convenient recepient of his wrath when these sorts of situations arose.

He switched the datastream back on, listening to Da'an's press conference. He had allowed Da'an to counter Doors' allegations because, though an annoyance, seemed to be trusted by many in humanity who did not trust the Taelons in general. He could scarcely believe the pathetic drivel that Da'an spoke, and hated it even more that Da'an truly believed in some of what he said. Working with humans? What a preposterous concept . . .

"We'll 'release' Sydney tomorrow." Joshua said. Seeing the look of obvious worry on Jarod's face, Joshua added, "Everything is going to work out."

"Thank you for all your help Joshua."

"You don't need to thank me, Jarod. It's no problem. I owe you my life." There was a pause, "Jarod, I was wondering if you would consider joining the Resistance. I could certainly use your help and to be perfectly honest, your Pretender abilities and intellect would be invaluable to us."

Jarod shook his head, "I can't Joshua."

Joshua's brow furrowed, "Why not?"

"For two reasons. First, I'm searching for my family. I . . . need to find them."

Joshua nodded, "Family is important. But you could work with us and use Resistance resources . . ."

"No, I can't. How can you be sure that anything I come up with, anything I do won't be used to kill? I've been down that road once before and I'm not traveling it again. I don't want any more blood on my hands." Jarod noticed that Joshua looked a bit hurt and continued, "It's not that I don't trust you Joshua. But you know as well as I do that even though you are the leader, you can't control all the elements of the Resistance, especially extreme factions."

Joshua nodded wordlessly.

"And I'll be more than happy to help you if you need it. But I have a feeling that you'll do fine."

"Well Jarod, I wish the answer had been yes, but I do understand why you can't. Would you still like me to use Resistance sources to see if I can find your family?" Jarod glanced up at Joshua in surprise. "That wasn't contingent on you joining, Jarod. I'd like to help if I could."

"You do know that they'll be hard to find? They've had to go deep underground to stay out of the Centre's reach."

Joshua shrugged, "So it'll take some time. Besides, Street will be on it and she's one of the best there is at finding information. Where will you go?"

"Wherever I'm needed. I don't know yet. So how does the world seem to take the news that you are really alive?"

"Curiosity mostly. They're comparing it to when my dad 'came back from the dead'. And we're already seeing an increase in membership. Don't know why. I'm not really doing anything special."

"Well, it's not every day people 'rise from the dead'."

Joshua rolled his eyes, "True, but still . . ." He paused, "Jarod, you know we'll have to be more careful communicating this time. Sandoval will use that again if he can."

"So will Miss Parker."

"When are you going to take off?" Joshua asked.

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Jarod grinned.

"No, I just had a crazy idea. You know how they used us against each other?"

Jarod nodded.

"Well, if they can do it, then surely we can do it. Maybe give them a taste of their own medicine."

Jarod's face broke into a wide grin. "You know that they hate each other's guts, right?"

"That's the beauty of it . . . Besides, spending some time together might be good for them . . ." Joshua added grinning.

"I see you've been hanging around Jarod too long." Sydney said, startling both. They could see the amusement in his eyes, "But it does seem like a good idea. There is one piece of advice that I would offer, however."

They looked at him questioningly.

Sydney smiled, "Make sure they never catch either of you."


	6. Chapter 6 Finale

Vancouver

British Columbia, Canada

Sandoval carefully made his way around the building he had been directed towards. An anonymous source had claimed this as the place where Joshua was running the resistance from, as well as where Jarod was hiding. Now, if he could get to Jarod before Miss Parker got wind of it . . . he'd be set. Zo'or wouldn't care nearly as much about catching Joshua in that case, if he weren't here for some reason. And Sandoval would be somewhat off the hook. Besides, with Jarod's brain it would surely be easy to catch Joshua and crush the Resistance. He fully expected Jarod to resist, but he was sure that with some persuasion, he could get him to cooperate.

Sandoval swept the perimeter of the building, discovering that he was circling an abandoned warehouse. As he completed the sweep, he had found only one door that could be used to get in and out of the place. Upon reaching the door the second time, he cautiously checked the door to see if it was opened, and was disappointed in the intelligence of the people inside. He opened the door all the way, his skrill up and ready to fire should he need it.

The interior of the warehouse was dark and Sandoval waited until his eyes adjusted before he stepped inside, allowing the door to slowly close behind him. Shipping boxes-- more and more and more of them were stacked in the room. Suddenly he heard a voice speak out from the left side of the dark.

"No, don't let the door close!"

Just then the door clanked shut and Sandoval heard the voice curse vehemently. He frowned as he realized who was in the room with him. Digging into his coat's pocket, he produced a flashlight and turning it on he shined the light in face of a very angry Miss Parker.

"What are you doing here, Miss Parker?" he asked.

She held up her hand to block the flashlight beam from boring into her eyes, her gun leveled on him. "I could ask you the same question, Agent Sandoval."

"I am here on official Taelon business," Sandoval replied. "I am looking for Resistance members."

"Cut the crap, Sandoval, I think we both know you're here looking for Jarod. How many times do I have to tell you that he belongs to the Centre and not your Taelon masters?" Parker replied.

Sandoval simply glared at her for a few more seconds, before turning to exit through the door he'd just came through. He pushed the door handle and the door remained firmly in place. He tried again and the door refused to budge.

"What the-"

"Forget trying to open it, Sandoval. It's been locked from the outside. This warehouse has been rigged to trap us here," Parker said.

Sandoval turned around and shined the flashlight again in her eyes. "Rigged by who?"

"I was under the impression that your implant enhances your intelligence level," Miss Parker replied. "Jarod rigged the building to trap us and then he set us both up. Now, get the flashlight out of my eyes before I ram it down your throat!"

Sandoval glared at her insult but decided not to waste his breath replying in kind. Instead he took out his global, and opening it he read a screen that read: NO SERVICE AVAILABLE; PLEASE TRY AGAIN LATER... Muttering a curse, Sandoval closed and reopened it, pressing a few of the controls. He looked up at Miss Parker.

"Forget asking me to try mine. I already did and it's dead. Jarod has some sort of dampening field rigged around this room so that we can't get a signal out," she said.

"It appears that your property is more trouble than he's worth, Miss Parker," Sandoval muttered.

Suddenly lights came on in the room, nearly blinding them both. Annoyed, Sandoval shoved the flashlight into his pocket.

"Hello," a new voice said.

Sandoval aimed his skrill at the source even as Parker did the same with her gun. Before them stood Jarod with a rather smug look on his face as he began to address them. "Welcome to the Resistance Holiday Hotel, your new home for the next 3 days. . ."

"Three days! You can't be serious, Jarod!" Parker muttered, realizing that they were dealing with a hologram instead of the real deal, "I'm going to commit murder in the first before this is over with."

"I know how stressful both your jobs are, so I took the liberty of making sure that no stray global calls will get in or out." The hologram paused. "For your leisure and enjoy the Resistance Holiday Hotel has the following activities for you to look for and participate in." At this cue, another hologram appeared, this time of Joshua with a holographic chalkboard.

Joshua used a ruler, pointing to a map on the chalkboard. "If you'll follow this map, you'll find your accommodations in just under two hours," The hologram stated and just as they both approached the board it vanished.

"Also," the Jarod hologram resumed, "For your comfort, complimentary provisions have been placed in your room." At this point, Sandoval had had enough of the smug attitude of the hologram and so he turned, firing his skrill.

He was quite satisfied when the hologram vanished and looking down at his skrill, he decided that it was time to end this. He walked over to the door, preparing to fire.

"Naughty, naughty, Agent Sandoval," Joshua's voice admonished.

"Indeed," Jarod's voice joined in, "The walls and the door are protected by a type of virtual shielding. You will not be able blast your way out, Agent Sandoval." At that moment, the lights went out in the room again and after a second of digging in his pockets, Sandoval flicked on the flashlight again. A second later, Miss Parker joined him as he was the only one of them that had a flashlight.

"What do you think you're doing, Miss Parker?" Sandoval asked as she firmly latched onto his jacket.

"Making sure I don't get lost in this dark, rathole of a warehouse Jarod had trapped us in," Parker replied, gesturing, "Well what are you waiting for? Let's go find our accommodations."

After two hours of stumbling and tripping over each other in the dark, and listening to the voices of Jarod and Joshua taunting them, they reached a rather well lit section of the warehouse where they found a closed door and a chair set on the outside of it. The door had a sign above it that read: ROACH HOTEL, causing a smile to cross Parker's face when she saw it.

"Oh no you don't, Jarod. Not this time," she muttered.

Sandoval shined the light in her face. "What was that?"

"As I told you before either you get that light out of my face or I am going to ram down your throat, Sandoval." He turned the flashlight off, pocketing it as they no longer really needed it, and to her great delight, walked inside the room. In the room, Jarod had set up a monitor similar to the one he'd used a few years ago to trap her and her sweeper team in the apartment from Hades.

Sandoval pressed the button, and Jarod appeared on the screen, dressed as he had been then, speaking in the same condescending tone. If she wasn't enjoying this so much, Parker would have been tempted to shoot the monitor.

"...which is stronger than apoxy. Class dismissed."

Sandoval's reaction to the news he was now glued to the floor was almost identical to the one Miss Parker had experienced. "You son of a. . ." She heard him muttered a few curse words, and what was surely a useless gesture of frustration, skrill the monitor into oblivion before he turned on her.

"You knew this was going to happen, didn't you?" he accused.

Parker leaned against the doorframe, smiling at him. "And what if I did? It was high time someone put you in your place, Sandoval, and the way I see it this was as good of time as any for Jarod to have his way where you're concerned."

Sandoval's eyes narrowed. "I would be careful if I were you, Miss Parker. It's not wise to speak to a Companion agent in that manner."

In reply she merely laughed, shaking her head. "You are delusional if you think that your threats frighten me because I have seen things in my lifetime that would make you cower in the darkest corner you can find."

"We'll see, Miss Parker. We'll see."

Miss Parker finally decided to leave Sandoval alone for awhile, electing to go explore the rest of the dark warehouse on her own. However, not two minutes into stumbling around in the dark she encountered a wall that forced her to returned to where Sandoval was still glued to the floor. She felt tired all of a sudden and so she sat down in the chair, near the doorway, closing her eyes. A minute later, she realized her mistake when she tried to stand up again.

"Oh, Miss Parker, you might not want to sit down in that chair as I coated it with a new super glue that dries within seconds after it's been covered," the Jarod hologram said, seemingly watching her struggle to get out of the chair.

"So help me, Jarod, the next time I catch you, me dragging your sorry butt back to the Centre will be the LEAST of your worries," she muttered, ceasing her struggling.

3 Days Later

The warehouse that the anonymous email gave as Miss Parker's location was nondescript and was in a poorer part of Vancouver than was really safe. Sam would have gone into the warehouse with at least a few team of sweepers if the email hadn't warned him to come alone and while it hadn't threatened Miss Parker's safety in any way, Sam knew he'd better do as he was told.

He arrived to at the warehouse to find a very familiar car parked nearby, and rolling his eyes, the sweeper drew out his gun from its holster. Taking out his global, Sam tried to reach Miss Parker and the message he got back told her that she was unavailable. After calling Broots to give his location, Sam put the global away again and stepped inside of the dark warehouse.

"Miss Parker?" he called out, creeping to the warehouse with his gun up. It seemed to take forever for him to go five ten and he froze when he heard the safety of a gun being taken off, just prior to a flashlight beam hitting him in the eyes.

"What the heck are you doing here?"

Sam rolled his eyes, recognizing the voice. "Get the light out of my eyes, FBI, and I might answer your question!"

Tate lowered the flashlight at the warehouse lights came on. He still waved the gun in Sam's direction. "Where's that dragon lady you call a boss of yours at?"

_I wish you'd call her that to her face. She would so kick your butt into the next millenium_, Sam thought. "Watch your mouth, FBI. Speaking of bosses, where's that Agent I-Love-Taelons you call a boss at?"

"I asked you first," Tate retorted, not deciding Sandoval as Sam had Parker.

"Miss Parker disappeared 3 days ago. I have reason to believe that she's trapped somewhere inside of this

warehouse," Sam replied.

Tate finally lowered his gun completely. "What a coincidence. Sandoval also disappeared on me three days ago and I've traced him to this location. I thought you people were behind it."

"That's funny because I was thinking the same of your alien bosses, FBI," Sam retorted.

Tate snorted. "Look, it's obvious we don't trust one another and it's safe to say we both hate each others' guts but I say until our bosses are found let's put the mistrust aside."

Sam thought on it for a second and nodded. "Agreed."

"Good. The name is Tate, by the way, not FBI."

Sam started walking and as Tate hurried to catch to him, he replied, "As this is only a temporary truce, I will still refer to you as FBI. Got it?"

"Whatever."

A Few Hours Later...

The lights went back out again as Sam and Tate got further into the warehouse, forcing Sam to stay closer to Tate that he would have liked as they had to share the agent's flashlight. They finally entered an area where they found a well lit door and a dark hallway just beyond it. Sam heard Jarod's voice and immediately he took out his gun.

"Miss Parker?" he called out.

"Sam?" her voice answered from the dark.

Sam didn't hesitate to go towards the dark when he heard her voice, noting as he passed the door that it said "Roach Motel" and that Tate was about to step inside to help his boss. Sam grinned as he knew the trap that Jarod had set in the room, remember all too well when he'd used that same thing to trap himself, Miss Parker, and another sweeper in the apartment of nightmares.

"No, Tate, don't come in here!" Sandoval's voice yelled just a second too late.

"What's wrong boss?" Tate asked walking towards him.

"There's some sort super glue on the floor, idiot. I'm stuck and so are you now!" Sandoval replied irritably, resisting the temptation to skrill Tate.

Meanwhile Sam found Miss Parker still glued to the chair and the look on her face told Sam that he didn't dare ask any stupid questions.

"I'm glued to the chair. See if you can pull me off, Sam," she ordered, letting the sweeper grip both of her hands. Sam pulled but soon it was apparent to both that she wasn't going to be freed of the chair that way.

Sam jumped as the hologram of Joshua appeared beside them, pointing to a small metal box.

"You'll find what you need in there to dissolve the glue."

Parker didn't hesitate. "Get it, Sam."

"Yes, ma'am."

A minute later, Parker was freed from the chair but she reeked of skunk like smell. It was almost nauseating, making her and the sweeper alike cough as they made the way down the hallway. Parker paused at the doorway to look in on the FBI agents' situation.

"What happened to you?" Sandoval asked as he coughed.

Tate covered his mouth. "You smell like a skunk!"

Parker smiled. "Just for that, boys, I am not going to give this to you." She held up the can of dissolvant, shaking it before she put it down on the floor just outside the door and Tate's reach. "Have fun, boys! Let's go, Sam!"

Sam smiled at Tate as he happily obeyed the order. "See ya around, FBI."

Tate watched them walk off. "Not if I see you, first!"

"You'll pay for this!" Sandoval yelled.

Miss Parker didn't slow her pace. Thankfully the lights where back on and she was anxious to leave this funhouse that Jarod had set up. They exited the warehouse within minutes and were on their way back to the Centre soon after that.

Meanwhile back in the warehouse, a hologram of Jarod joined Sandoval and Tate, "Your globals work now. I hope you enjoyed your stay at the Resistance Holiday Hotel. We enjoyed having so please come again very soon."

This time Sandoval didn't resist the urge. He skrilled the hologram again before using his global to call in a squad of Volunteers to get them out of the warehouse. . .

Joshua hurried through the crowds, pulling his coat around him tighter. Sunglasses covered his eyes and he tried to make himself smaller, hoping no one would recognize him. He knew he shouldn't be out here, but he felt this was something he should do himself. His father's belongings and his own had been stored here and he badly wanted some of them.

He casually entered the building and stepped onto the elevator, without a second thought. Several other people shuffled into it as well, including one familiar face - Sandoval.

Fear raced through Joshua's mind and he froze, heart racing. He suppressed his sharp intake of breath and edged to the far corner of the elevator, slouching down. His mind was going crazy and he could barely think. He fought the urge to bolt as the elevator doors were already closing. Had he carelessly thrown away everything he had worked for? All Sandoval had to do was look around . . . and it was all over. How could he have been so stupid? It took all his will to force himself to stand still and not do anything that would attract attention.

Sandoval looked tired and he leaned against the wall, eyes closed. Suddenly, his eyes refocused and he scanned the faces of the other occupants of the elevator. Joshua was near a full blown panic now. He hid his face behind the other people in the elevator and tried to appear as casual as possible but his mind was already doing a review of the what ifs.

If Sandoval caught him he had a pretty good idea of what would follow. No, actually, scratch that - he had no clue what worse things they could do to him. The one thing he knew however, was that they'd think of something. ___Calm down, you aren't caught yet. But if you don't stay calm you will be__._

Sandoval evidently seemed satisfied that no one in the elevator was interesting enough to warrant his attention, as he returned to his brooding. A beeping sounded, startling Joshua. He forced himself not to jump.

Sandoval opened his global "What is it?"

A voice echoed over the device, "We traced the last signal sir, but it appears to come from about 100 different locations. We've check the first five, with no sign of Joshua Doors. And sir, Zo'or is expecting your report on the progress of the search."

"We've been searching for weeks and haven't found one thing. Do you have any reason to believe any of those locations could be where he is?"

"No sir. For all we know, he could be overseas, in outer space, or somewhere in D.C. for that matter. He always seem to want to make himself appear to be right under our noses, but each time it looks like that, it leads to a dead end."

Sandoval nodded, "Inform Zo'or that I'll be there within the hour. I'm going to check one other place Doors might be inclined to go . . ."

Joshua had stopped breathing during the conversation. ___Of all the days I could have picked to come here . . . I don't think anything is important enough to stick around for. If Sandoval doesn't see me of course . . . If he knew I was standing right here . . ._

When Sandoval stepped out of the elevator, Joshua let out the breath he'd been holding. He nearly collapsed onto the floor, and if it weren't for the other people there, he would have done so. The man standing next to him gave him a weird stare but Joshua really didn't care about that. If Sandoval had looked closer, if Sandoval had been at a different place in the elevator, if Joshua hadn't been able to hide behind someone . . .

It was time to get out of here. Joshua couldn't risk it and evidently, Sandoval suspected he might come here. He sighed. ___I guess that means I can scrap the idea of getting some of my stuff back. Oh well, it isn't worth getting caught over._

He rode the elevator the rest of the way to the top of the building, then took it straight back down and hurriedly exited the building. As he did, his own global sounded.

He opened it and sighed in relief at seeing Liam's face. "Hey Joshua, you may want to get back here. There's something here for you."

"Don't worry. I'm on my way back now."

Sandoval approached the counter on the floor he'd gotten off on.

The man behind it glanced up once, then did a double take when he saw who was there. "Umm, sir may I help you?"

"I understood that you have some of Mr. Doors' belongings stored here." Sandoval flashed his I.D. "I'm taking them."

The man looked nervous, "Um, Agent Sandoval, I'm sorry to tell you this but someone picked them up earlier."

"Joshua Doors was in here?" Sandoval's tone turned threatening.

A look of confusion crossed the man's face, "No sir. His name wasn't Joshua. I was under the impression he was his brother or something. Though I thought it was odd I'd never heard of him before."

Sandoval interrupted the man, "What was his name?"

"Jarod. Jarod Doors."

An indescribable look of irritation crossed Sandoval's face.

"Agent, he left this for you." The man held out a red notebook nervously, as if afraid that Sandoval might explode. "He said you should share it with your new friend."

Sandoval grabbed it and without another word stalked away.

Sydney's Office

The Centre

Caller ID blocked. Do you wish to accept this call?

The sound of the computer's voice startled Sydney out of his work. Eagerly he pressed a button on the console, confirming he'd accept the call, knowing that who was on the other end. A split second later, the face of his protege appeared on the screen.

"Jarod, you shouldn't be calling on this line," Sydney immediately said, "They'll trace your location."

"Don't worry, Sydney, I've scrambled the signal so much that even Broots won't be able to trace my location until after I am long gone," Jarod smiled. "Has Miss Parker returned yet to the Centre?"

Sydney chuckled softly. "Yes, she has. Jarod, she did not enjoy being trapped three days in a dark warehouse with Agent Sandoval."

"Not to mention the holograms I programmed of Joshua and myself to keep them company," Jarod interjected with a satisfied look on his face.

Sydney nodded. "I believe it would be wise for now if you do not let her catch up to you soon. I believe at the moment she's in the mindset where she would skin you alive now if she were to catch you."

"I'll be laying low for awhile anyway. Tell Miss Parker that I'll see her in two weeks' time after my vacation is over with," Jarod said, moving to cut the line.

"Jarod, be careful," Sydney advised his protege before the screen went dark.

It was a full minute after the screen went dark that he shook his head, trying to not think about the danger Jarod was placing himself in with both the Centre and the Taelons. . .or at least with Agent Ronald Sandoval! Trying to forget, Sydney returned the work he'd been doing before the Pretender called and quickly became reabsorbed within seconds. Not five minutes later, Broots burst into his office without so much as knocking to announce his hasty arrival beforehand.

"Broots," Sydney began upon seeing his face, "What's wrong?"

"They found Mr. Raines down on SL-17," Broots gulped, "Syd, he's dead!"

FIN

AN: There is NO sequel written at this time.


End file.
